You Make Me Feel Safe
by SuseliebeSuse
Summary: Derek is suffering. Is Penelope able to help him, to work things out with him?
1. Prologue

Hello there! I'm back with a new Morcia story and I hope you like it (let me know pleaase :) ) 

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Prologue

It had been almost a year now since Derek had left.  
One long year and Penelope missed her best friend and the love of her life so badly. At the first time, after he'd left the BAU, they'd talked almost every day via video message.  
Since the day, Savannah had answered her call and had told her, Derek didn't want to talk to her every day. Penelope couldn't really believe that, but from that day on, she'd texted him before calling to ask if it was okay. He'd never told her not to call, and Penelope refused to ask. She never asked if it was true what Savannah had said to her. To be honest, Penelope was just glad to be able to talk to Derek from time to time.  
But in the last two months, something had changed, and she wasn't happy about it.  
Penelope looked at her cell phone for the hundredth time and sighed. She'd texted Derek several times and had tried to call him, but he wouldn't answer. Two months without a text or a call. Not even a picture of her beautiful godson Hank the Tank. Not even Spencer had heard from his big brother. They all were concerned about Derek. Penelope had tried to ask Savannah, but Drek's wife refused to talk to her and Penelope was wondering what she'd done to her. Penelope always thought that she and Savannah were some kind of friends. When Spencer had spoken to Savannah after Penelope had told him about it, Savannah had told him, everything was just fine, that they didn't need to worry about Derek, that he just needed some time off his team. That wasn't the Derek Morgan, all of them knew, and no one from his BAU team believed just a single word.  
But Derek was nowhere to be found. JJ tried to visit him, unsuccessfully. Penelope had called Fran, Derek had called her several times, at least he was alive.  
With another sigh, Penelope put her phone into her purse and closed it. She shut down her babies, grabbed the things she would need at home and left her bat hole, hoping for a weekend off from work. Waving goodbye to the rest of the team, Penelope headed off the BAU. She reached her home almost an hour later because she went to the store and bought some stuff for dinner. With two big paper bags in her arms, Penelope headed to her apartment not spending too much attention to the things around her. She just wanted to be left alone this weekend, watch some of her favorite movies, nothing more. Penelope placed her paper bags in front of the door and opened it when she inhaled a familiar scent...his scent.  
She opened the door very fast, realizing how much her heart was racing. Forgotten was her food, she just wanted to make sure she wasn't dreaming. Derek still had the keys to her apartment, there was a possibility that he was at her home.  
And there he was.  
Sitting on Penelope's couch, leaning forward, covering his face with his big palms just like he had been there all day long. Derek didn't recognize her, he seemed to be lost in his thoughts.  
Penelope observed him carefully for a moment, trying to calm herself down. Even if she couldn't see his face, she sensed something was severely wrong with the man she loved so much. And she wanted to find out what was bothering him, so she walked a few steps closer to him.  
"Derek," it wasn't more than a whisper when Penelope was finally able to say something. He looked up, to face her and Penelope's heart broke. Never, not one time since the day they'd met, she'd seen him in such a distressed state. Derek had red-rimmed eyes and seemed so exhausted like he hadn't slept for days. His whole appearance was so hopeless.  
"Baby Girl," he slurred and tried to rose to his feet, but he stumbled and fell back to the couch. It wasn't until then that she realized the almost empty bottle of whiskey in front of him.  
Penelope hurried over to him and placed her hands on his chest.  
"Sit, I'm here," she whispered, sitting down beside him.  
Derek barely nodded and looked at her with so much sadness in his eyes, it broke Penelope's heart all over again.  
"...so sorry...," he tried to talk but it didn't work out as well as he wanted, so Penelope smiled sadly at him.  
"It's alright Hot Stuff. We're gonna talk tomorrow, but for now, I'll tuck you in, and you take some rest, alright?"  
Derek barely nodded, tears forming in his eyes.  
"It's going to be okay, whatever it is, we'll figure it out," she said, trying to stay as affirmative as possible. Whatever it was, Derek was suffering and couldn't handle it on his own.  
"Can you stand?"  
"Dunno," he mumbled. So she threw away her high heels and stood up again, grabbing both of his hands, to help him to his feet. Penelope wouldn't let him sleep on her couch tonight. Derek needed a comfortable bed to sleep in right now. Swayingly he stood in front of her, the way to her bed wouldn't be easy, but Penelope refused to let him sleep on her couch. Derek looked at her when she wrapped one of his arms around her shoulder.  
"I got you, Handsome," Penelope whispered, and when she was sure, he was steady enough on his feet, she lifted her hand to his cheek to caress him for a moment. Derek closed his eyes at her touch and Penelope watched him with concern.  
"Let's tuck you in, Sweetcheeks, you need some rest."  
Derek only nodded and opened his eyes again. He clung to her and Penelope wrapped both of her arms around his waist to steady him. Very slowly, they stumbled towards her bed, luckily it wasn't that far away.  
Penelope helped Derek to sit down on the mattress and pulled him out of his uncomfortable clothes. He'd always left some sleeping pants at hers, and she helped him to dress. Derek wasn't able to help a lot. She had to hold him many times, to stop him from falling, but somehow, she managed it to lay him down and covered him with her blanket.  
"Sleep Handsome, I'll be here when you wake up," she whispered as he closed his red-rimmed eyes, but he grabbed her hand before she could even try to walk away.  
"Stay," he mumbled. "Please stay."  
"I'm not leaving, but I have the front door wide open and some stuff on the floor. I'll be right back."  
"Promise?" He didn't open his eyes, and she almost couldn't understand him, but she squeezed his hand and nodded.  
"I'll be here when you wake up, I promise," she whispered when she finally saw him falling into much-needed sleep. Slowly she pulled her hand out of his and kissed his forehead.  
She watched him for another moment until she headed to her front door. Penelope grabbed the stuff she bought and closed her door carefully, she didn't want to wake up Derek.  
After she'd brought the paper bags to the kitchen and had placed them in the cupboards of her kitchen, she decided to call Emily. Penelope eventually would need a few days off, to work things out with Derek. She couldn't leave him.  
She pulled her cell phone out of her purse and called her boss then.  
"Prentiss?"  
"Hey Emily, it's Penelope. I hope it's not a big deal to ask you for a few days off?"  
"Lynch can jump in while you're away. Did something happen?"  
"Indeed. Derek was sitting in my apartment this evening...," Penelope began, but Emily interrupted her.  
"Morgan? Is he alright?"  
"Unfortunately no. Derek was drunk like I haven't seen him before, I couldn't get a lot of words out of him. He's sleeping now, but he asked me to stay, and I can't leave him alone now. Derek seemed so sad. I don't know what happened, but it must be bad, what if something's happened to Hank? I mean, he's so little, or...I don't know, I just know it's terrible for him," tears stung in Penelope's eyes just when she thought about Derek's hopeless appearance.  
"Hey, it's alright, PG. Don't worry too much before you don't know what exactly happened, alright? You take your time off, but keep us in line. Oh and tell Reid, he's so concerned about Morgan, just let him know that he's with you and that you take care of him, alright?"  
"I really shouldn't do that, but I just can't stop myself. Sure thing, I'll call my Boy Wonder right after our chat," Penelope promised, and so she did after she'd ended the call with Emily.  
"Hey, Garcia!" Spencer greeted her. "Are you okay?"  
"I'm fine, but I just wanted to tell you, that Derek is here at my apartment. I think you need to know. I don't know what's wrong until now, but I will tell you as soon as we talked."  
"Can you tell me what you know, please?" Spencer begged, and Penelope could hear the concern in his voice. Derek was like a bigger brother to him, both, Spencer and Reid had been very close.  
"He was drunk, very drunk to be honest. He just said 'so sorry,' and I tucked him in. He's sleeping now, but I know something bad has happened. We'll talk later when he's awake. I promise to keep you in line Boy Wonder."  
"Please, and hey, tell him I'm here if he needs me alright?"  
"I will, and I'm sure he will call you in the next few days."  
They ended the call, and Penelope laid her cell phone on the kitchen table. She took a look at the clock and decided to get some rest too. It was getting late, and she didn't know when Derek would wake up.  
Penelope took a quick shower and put her sleeping dress on. Standing in front of her bed with Derek laying inside, she decided not to sleep on her couch but to join him. Derek was very restless, maybe Penelope could soothe him down a bit. She eventually laid down beside him and took his hand after covering herself with a blanket. Derek stirred for a moment and tried to open his eyes, but she squeezed his hand and whispered.  
"It's just me Hot Stuff like I promised. Get your rest, I'm here."  
A smile appeared on his sad face just for a second, but Penelope saw it anyway. It gave her some hope that, whatever it was, that had happened to Derek would be able to work out. She turned on her side, to watch him sleep while she held his hand. Eventually, she drifted off to sleep too.


	2. Chapter 1

**Thanks to all of you who read/favorited/followed/reviewed my story so far! I appreciate it and I'm so happy about it! :)**  
 **Here's the second chapter, happy Sunday!**  
 **I own nothing.**

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Derek woke up with a nasty headache. He hadn't even opened his eyes when he groaned in pain as he just tried to lay on his side. He stopped his movements and decided to remain as still as possible, focusing on his breath.  
Not much later the mattress shifted beside him, and Derek tensed. He couldn't bare seeing Savannah now. To be honest, he didn't want to see her again in his whole life.  
"Hey, Hot Stuff."  
Promptly, Derek opened his eyes, just to close them again with a groan, because the light was too much to take for his eyes.  
"Baby Girl?" He asked, after covering his eyes with one of his hands. Derek didn't remember anything after buying a bottle of whiskey and drinking it.  
What had happened yesterday?  
"Yes, it's me, I have some painkiller here, your head seems to hurt a lot. Open that perfect mouth of yours for me, please."  
"Hell of a lot," he answered honestly and opened his mouth for her, so she could put the pills inside. A glass of water reached his lips only seconds later, and he drank a few sips to swallow the pills before he sank back into the pillow.  
"How did you find me?" He asked after a moment of silence. He'd missed Penelope so much, having her around him made him feel better at once.  
"You found my apartment," she answered, a smile in her voice. "You were sitting on my couch when I came home from work. How do you feel? Apart from that hell of a headache?"  
He sighed. That was a question he really couldn't answer that precisely.  
"I don't know," Derek answered truthfully. He tried to open his eyes again, this time it worked a lot better, and he was able to look at the beautiful face of the woman he loved so much but hadn't told yet. Penelope smiled at him, but he could also see the concern written all over her face. But instead of asking for more, she didn't push him and reminded silent.  
"Hey dollface, would you mind if you give me a long overdue hug? I missed you."  
It didn't take her long to lay down and snuggle up with him. Derek wrapped his arms around her and inhaled her scent. Just like he'd remembered her.  
"I missed you too, and I'm glad you came over," Penelope answered when she placed her head on his chest and sighed happily.  
"Whatever it was that had brought you here."  
Derek knew Penelope would wait until he was ready to talk and he appreciated it very much. To be honest, he didn't know what to say anyway.  
He squeezed her and enjoyed just the feeling of Penelope Garcia so close to him.  
"I'm glad too, even if I don't remember anything from the time I bought the whiskey and drank a few glasses."  
"That's not surprising. You almost emptied the bottle!"  
Derek looked at her for a moment, but then averted his eyes in shame. He was embarrassed for his behavior.  
"I'm sorry, Baby Girl," he mumbled but then felt her hand on his cheek, pulling his face towards her.  
"For what? I mean, I'm sure you had a reason. Look at me, every time I had a fight or broke up with Kevin or Sam, I got drunk, and you were here, now I'm here for you, and that's fine."  
Penelope smiled at him, and he nodded, grateful for having her around him.  
"Alright, I'll take it as you said it," he said and tried to smile, but it just didn't work.  
"I beg you to," Penelope answered, smiling. "Hey, are you hungry? I fixed us something for lunch. Some anti-hangover vegetable soup. Interested?"  
"I could eat something, but would prefer a shower for the beginning," he decided after a moment. Penelope nodded.  
"Sure thing Hot Stuff, whatever you need. I've already put some towels and fresh clothes for you in the bathroom, take your time."  
"I won't take long. When do you have to go to work?"  
"Oh, uhm, I took some days off to be here if you need me. I called Em yesterday when you were asleep." Penelope smiled a bit shyly at him, but at this moment, Derek couldn't be more grateful.  
"You did that for me?" He asked, almost in disbelieve. In the past year, they hadn't had much of contact, he'd nearly feared, that Penelope would be angry at him, but here she was, taking some days off, just for him.  
"Sure. You would do the same for me. You did, when I was shot."  
This time, he was able to smile and squeezed her again.  
"I couldn't be more grateful, thank you," he whispered. Derek really didn't know how he deserved Penelope. She was his God-given solace, and he would never let it come that far again. Derek needed her around him. To be honest, all he'd ever wanted was Penelope at his side instead of Savannah. Derek had been about to break up with Savannah when she became pregnant. Derek always had wanted to be a father, so he'd asked her to marry him, instead of telling Penelope how he felt about her. Derek had tried to on the day he'd woken up in the hospital after he'd been kidnapped. When Derek had seen Penelope sitting on the chair, beside him, he'd felt at ease. But she'd been away too fast to leave him and Savannah alone.  
"You're welcome Handsome, whenever you need me," she answered, still snuggled up against him. Derek listened to her and tears welled up in his eyes. He wasn't someone who cried a lot. Indeed, he didn't remember when he'd cried the last time. But receiving so much love from Penelope made him want to cry. He hadn't heard some kind words in the mast months apart from his mother and sisters telling him how much they loved him. Living together with Savannah hadn't been something he would enjoy to remember at any time.  
"I really don't deserve you, Penelope...," he began with a hoarse voice, which caused Penelope to look at his direction.  
"No, no you stop this right now, loverboy because you deserve everything I can do for you right now. You're not doing good, I can see it, and if I can do anything to help you, I'm just glad Hot Stuff."  
Derek looked at her direction, he knew she would see the tears burning in his eyes, but he didn't care. Derek was with the woman he wanted to be with and maybe when he felt better Derek would finally tell her how much he loved her.  
"Thank you, princess. I'm going to make it up to you somehow."  
"I don't care. Honestly? I'm just glad you're here, I was so worried when you stopped texting and calling. Really, I was having some terrible thoughts until Fran told us, you would call her from time to time."  
"I didn't stop calling you, I tried it almost every day."  
Both looked at each other in surprise.  
"I did that too, I texted, called. I even called Savannah, but somehow she stopped talking to me from the day she told me you didn't want to have a chat with me every day. I really don't know what I did wrong."  
"You did nothing wrong Baby Girl, don't overthink it too much. Hey, let's eat something, alright?" Clearly, Derek didn't want to talk about Savannah. He just couldn't right now, it would hurt too much.  
"Alright, but I need to find out what's wrong with our cell phone's may I take a look at yours? I won't look at anything else."  
Derek smiled a bit at her.  
"I trust you, you don't have to say that you won't take a look at the other stuff. Do you still know the code?"  
Penelope nodded and moved out of the bed. Derek knew she needed to have a look at this right now. To be honest, he wanted to know too, why they hadn't reached each other for months.  
Derek slowly sat up then. His head didn't hurt as much as it did before, so he tried to stand up but still stumbled a bit.  
"No car driving for you today, Handsome," Penelope joked and wrapped an arm around his waist to help him into the bathroom. He was glad for her help, even if he walked much steadier after a few steps.  
"Seems like I'm glued to your apartment today," he answered with a little smile.  
"That's all I wanted," Penelope said at his side, as they walked into the bathroom.  
"You're going to be okay in here?" She asked him, and he nodded. Penelope smiled a bit and tried to pull away when he suddenly pulled her into his embrace. He wanted to hold her as long as possible. Penelope wrapped her arms around him too and leaned her head against his bare chest. Sensing how he felt, she whispered.  
"I'm not going anywhere Handsome, I'm going to get the soup hot for my Chocolate Thunder." She squeezed him and placed a kiss on his bare chest.  
"Alright," he murmured and let go of her, averting her eyes, he turned around and grabbed the towels.  
He heard Penelope leaving the bathroom and closing the door behind her. Derek sighed and took a look in the mirror. He looked like a mess.  
Averting his eyes from the mirror image he decided to take a hot shower and undressed. He then turned the water on and took his time to get clean again.  
Minutes later he turned the water off and walked out of the shower, he toweled himself and put some fresh clothes on, Penelope had already placed in the bathroom. Even if she'd told him, he deserved everything she did for him, he couldn't believe her. Penelope was so kind, and Derek just thought he didn't deserve her kindness and patience with him. He sighed and brushed his teeth when he saw his toothbrush was still in its old place like all his other stuff. After that, he headed towards the kitchen, following the smell of the soup, Penelope was warming over.  
"Smell's delicious," he said when he reached the kitchen. "Can I help you with something?"  
"Thank you, Handsome, uhm, what if you fix us something to drink? Our food is ready in a few."  
Derek did what she asked him for and poured both of them a glass of soda, placing it on the table, he sat down. Derek began to stare out of the window while he waited for Penelope to join him. Watching nothing, Derek didn't even realize when Penelope put the soup in front of him because he was lost somewhere in his thoughts. Just when Derek felt Penelope's hand on his, he looked at her, realizing she was watching him with concern.  
"Soup's ready," she told him, and he slowly nodded.  
"Thank you, Baby Girl." He grabbed the spoon when she sat down beside him. They ate in silence, and when they were ready, they decided to just sit down on her couch and watch some movies.  
Penelope did everything to make him feel comfortable: she placed some of his favorite foods on the small table, brought some soft blankets and drinks. She then sat down beside him and started the movie. Derek wrapped his arm around her, and she leaned against him, covered both of them with the soft blanket.  
"Just like I imagined my weekend off, plus, I have you around, I couldn't be happier!" Penelope sighed, and Derek chuckled a bit.  
"I'm glad that I made your weekend a better one!" He said honestly and kissed her forehead.  
"You can't tell my Chocolate Thunder, how much I missed this, how much I missed us!"  
"Me too. Hey did you find out something why we couldn't call each other?"  
"My number was blocked with a special programme. You wouldn't have found out. But like the genius I am, I found out in seconds and deleted it from your cell phone. You can call me now at every time you want to, my perfectly sculpted Adonis and keep me on the line with my beyond beautiful godson."  
Derek tensed at these words. Had Savannah been so jealous? He hadn't thought about that, but it seemed to. When Penelope mentioned Hank, he tensed much more, causing Penelope to look at him.  
"Don't tell me something happened to him!" She said, fear for her godson written all over her face.  
"He's fine, don't you worry," Derek only answered. If she just knew...Derek sighed and looked at the TV.  
"Hot Stuff?"  
Derek took a moment to calm himself down before he looked at her. Concern was written all over her face.  
"You know, I tried not to ask, I really did. I mean, you know me, I usually would ask you until you would tell me what's wrong. And something here is severely awkward. But I can't. I just can't tell you how much it hurts me to see you suffer. Handsome, what happened?"  
She lifted one hand to his cheek when he tried to look away again to keep their eyes locked.  
"I'm not ready...it's just. I'm so ashamed, Penelope," he eventually managed to say, when he again felt tears burning in his eyes. If he told her, it would all become real, and he didn't know how to handle it.


	3. Chapter 2

**Thank you so much to all of you who read/favorited/followed the story, thank you also to all of you who took the time to leave a review, I couldn't be more happy about it :)**  
 **Here's the next chapter for you. Soon, we'll find out, what happened to Derek!**  
 **I own nothing.**

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Penelope was worried sick, seeing Derek suffering like this. She didn't know what it was, but it had hurt so very much, she could tell.  
"You don't have to be ashamed...not in front of me Angelfish, you know that, right? I mean, I already know the worst parts of your past, it's didn't look at her, but at the screen where their movie was still on.  
He barely nodded and sighed.  
Penelope watched him as he fought with his demons. She knew he had a hard time trusting people, but they'd always trusted each other with everything. It took him a few minutes until he finally sighed again.  
"All I can say for now is that Savannah cheated on me...to tell the rest, Baby Girl I'm not ready. It'll be too real then." His voice became hoarse, and she could already see the unshed tears in his eyes. Hugging him lovingly she nodded in understanding.  
"Alright, I'm here if you're ready. And just one word on Savannah. Oh no, maybe a few more. She's so stupid for doing this. I mean, look at you, you have the perfect body, you're so kind and loving, caring. You even quitted your job because of her and your child. You're the perfect man in every way I would admit."  
She shook her head and looked at his direction. He still was fighting his tears to come out but refused to.  
So she put a hand on his cheek, causing Derek to look at her. His red-rimmed eyes locked with her's and she smiled at him gently. "I mean what I'm saying. Don't let her get you down."  
"I'm trying, Baby Girl, thank you," he answered, closing his eyes and leaning into her touch. Penelope could almost sense how much Derek needed her right now and she would do anything to make the love of her life happy again. So, Penelope wrapped her arms back around him and hugged him lovingly.  
Derek squeezed her, and so they sat silently, enjoying each other's closeness for a long while and watched their movie.  
"Hey, Sweet Cheeks?" She asked when the movie ended and looked at his direction from her place on his chest.  
"Our Wonder Boy is very concerned about you, how about inviting him for dinner tonight?"  
Derek was silently stroking circles over her upper arm but nodded finally.  
"Yeah, I think it'll be nice, seeing my little brother again," he confirmed which caused Penelope to smile a bit.  
"Nice? He won't let you go anymore, just like me," she joked, but there was enough truth in her words, and she knew Derek would understand her.  
"Oh I bet you'll be glad when I'm gone again," Derek joked back, but Penelope shook her head.  
"If it's on me, you can stay as long as you want, weeks, months, years, forever, I'm glad for every day I'm going to have you around, for sure I won't get rid of you," she answered solemnly.  
Again, Derek remained silent for a while.  
"You mean that?" He asked then, his head turning a bit so he could see her face. Penelope never had seen him so insecure. She wondered, what else Savannah had done to that once so confident man.  
"Sure thing. If you want to stay for how long ever, I'll gladly say yes my beautiful noir hero. But you'll have to share my bed with me at least."  
"I could sleep on the couch," Derek suggested, but Penelope shook her head.  
"No, I don't see why you should, we slept in my bed together last night, and it was good having you close," she confirmed, feeling her cheeks blushing. God how much she wanted to tell Derek that she loved him deeply. But she swallowed these words down and smiled at him.  
"And I've overslept it, shame on me," Derek answered and tried on a small grin which caused Penelope to chuckle.  
"See? That's why we have to sleep together in my bed so you can experience how it is to have a Goddess in your arms!"

Flashback:  
Penelope was laying on her side, her back to Derek when she felt his hand on her waist. Suddenly fully awake she waited, what he was about to do. He shifted closer, so her back was pressed against him and Derek wrapped his arms around her to hold her close. He sighed deeply, not really awake, but murmuring her name. Penelope felt relaxed and at the right place, lying in his arms. She snuggled up against him as much as possible and fell into a deep sleep.

"I can't wait," he answered and brought her out of her thoughts.  
"I can't wait either," she said, grabbing her cell phone to send Spencer a text to let him know he was invited at six in the evening. The replay came almost a second after she'd pressed the sending button, giving her and Derek the information he would be there in time.  
"Spencer will be here at six, so we have a bit time to get the dinner ready, do you want to help me or have a little nap or something else?" Penelope asked then, still snuggled against Derek.  
"I can help you if you want me to. Better than sitting around, doing nothing," Derek replied, and Penelope nodded in agreement. Derek needed a distraction for the moment, that was for sure.  
"Alright then. Let's get some vegetable ready, and I think I have some steaks left for you guys if you need meat."  
Pulling out of Derek's embrace, she felt lonely at the second she left his strong arms but yet she smiled at him. She looked at him and was surprised by the way he looked back at her. She could sense a longing in his gaze and so much love. But it lasted only a few seconds until both of them rose to their feet to get the dinner ready.  
"A steak would be just great. Not that I don't like your cooking, Baby Girl."  
"It's alright, it's alright. You guys need some protein to stay strong," she replied pointing playfully at Derek's muscles.  
He grinned amused at her comment, and together they headed to her kitchen area.  
To Derek's luck, Penelope found some steaks in the freezer compartment of her fridge, and she gave the meat to him, to get it ready.  
"You know where everything is, Handsome," she just said and started to work on a salad. Later she would make some rice and a sauce, but they had some time until Spencer would come over.  
Derek began to defrost the meat and together, they worked in silence for a while.  
"Do you want a dessert, Hot Stuff?" Penelope asked while working on the dressing for the salat.  
"Yeah, why not?" He answered and gave her a small smile while they worked side by side at their dinner.  
"Some chocolate mousse for my Chocolate Thunder?" Penelope asked then, and he nodded.  
"Sounds good to me."  
"Alrighty, gonna get it ready," Penelope replied and worked on that dessert. When everything was finished, the doorbell rang.  
"Isn't it scary? The clock just turned on six," Penelope joked. "It's almost like our Boy Wonder is standing in front of the door, waiting for the right time," she said, causing Derek to chuckle.  
"Maybe he's doing just this who knows," he answered, when Penelope realized, his hands were shaking a bit. She placed one hand of hers on his and looked at him.  
"Is everything alright, Handsome?" She asked him, looking into his eyes.  
Derek smiled a bit at her and nodded. "Yeah I think so, it's going to be alright."  
Penelope looked at him a while longer, but then nodded and headed to her front door to open it for Spencer.  
"Hey Boy Wonder, come on in," she greeted him before she hugged him and let him in. Closing the front door, she mentioned Spence to her kitchen area, where Derek was standing. Derek seemed a bit unsure, but Spencer seemed just glad to see his big brother and best friend again. He walked over to Derek and hugged him.  
"I really missed you," Spence said truthfully, and Derek smiled at his little brother after they parted.  
"I missed you too, pretty boy. How are you doing?" Derek asked, and Penelope watched them for a moment, smiling. Tears of joy were burning in her eyes, so she took a deep breath before she set the table for the three of them to have dinner.  
"I'm doing good, but I was worried about you. How are you doing, that's what I'm interested in."  
"I won't lie, I'm not doing very good right now, but it'll get better again."  
"I see. I'm glad you're back right now."  
Penelope listened silently to the conversation, she knew Derek and Spencer needed each other so much, and she was glad that Derek was back and spent time with Spencer.  
"Dinner's ready guys," she said after a while and headed to the kitchen to pull a bottle of white wine for Derek and her and a bottle of soda for Spencer, while the guys sat down on the table. She poured Spencer a glass of water, and herself and Derek a glass of wine.  
"Help yourself," Penelope said, while she sat down. They ate together and talked for a long while until it was late in the evening. Both, Derek and Spencer seemed to enjoy the evening. Derek was able to laugh one time when Spencer was just...Spencer.  
Their friend eventually had to leave, and Penelope cleaned the table and the dishes. Derek poured him a second glass of wine and sat down on the couch, yawning.  
"Hey Angelfish, wanna head to bed?" She asked Derek who shook his head after a second.  
"No, I think I'll stay a bit longer if you don't mind."  
"I don't, I'll take a shower and go to bed, that's alright?"  
"Sure Baby Girl, I won't take long," he answered with a slight smile. Penelope watched him for another moment, she didn't know what it was, but right now she worried about him again  
"Hey, wake me up if you'll need me, please Derek."  
He tried on a smile again and nodded.  
"I will Baby Girl."  
She nodded and headed to the bathroom and took a shower, she then put on her sleeping clothes and went to bed after saying her goodnight to Derek.  
She woke up to the sound of a door banging against the wall. Penelope almost jumped out of bed, not realizing what was happening at all. She couldn't see nothing but heard someone stumbling and cursing in a slurred voice.  
"Derek?" She instantly asked, she turned on the light and headed towards the living area, where Derek was. He tried to steady himself at the doorframe of her front door.  
A look at the small table in front of her sofa told her he'd drunk more than the second glass of wine. It seemed like he'd emptied some more.  
He didn't realize she was walking towards him, it broke her heart to see him like this. Derek had a more significant problem than she thought he would have. Sighing she put her hand on his upper arm.  
"Hey Handsome," she whispered, trying to hold back the tears in her eyes as she looked at him.  
Derek looked at her. Like yesterday, he had red-rimmed eyes, unshed tears were glistering in his eyes.  
"Baby Girl," he answered, slurring. She could see the shame written all over his face.  
"I...I didn't want you to see me like this again," he mumbled and averted his eyes, she could barely understand him.  
"Don't you worry now, Hot Stuff, let me help you?" She asked gently, slowly caressing his upper arm. All Penelope wanted was to comfort Derek in any possible way.  
Derek barely nodded. His lips were trembling as he tried to hold back his tears.  
"Don't hold anything back Baby Boy, I'm not leaving you," she moved more into his private space and helped him to walk back into her room to help him sitting down on a chair. When she was sure he could sit on his own, she closed and locked her front door. She then poured him a glass of water and walked back to him. By then, tears were streaming down his face. Derek didn't make a sound, he just looked so damn sad, her heart shattered into pieces, seeing him like that.  
"Baby, drink some water for me alright?" She asked him after she sat down on a chair right in front of him. He barely nodded, and when she tried to give him the glass a loud sob escaped his lips, his shoulders slouched down and began to tremble as soon as he started to weep copiously. Penelope put the glass back and rose to her feet just to stand in front of him and to wrap her arms around him. Derek's arms went around her waist almost immediately and held her close while he cried all the unshed tears out of him. Penelope rocked him lovingly while Derek was grieving and whispered loving words to him. Gradually, his weeping slowed down, he started to get limp in her arms.  
"Hey, let's get to bed, Handsome, you'll need your rest," she whispered and felt his head nodding against her belly. They pulled apart, and Penelope checked Derek's face for a moment. He averted her eyes, so she put both of her hands on his cheeks to wipe away his tears. Penelope then kissed his forehead and smiled at him lovingly as he looked at her. She wanted to show him that there was no need to be ashamed in front of her.  
Penelope helped him to rose to his feet and wrapped her arms around his waist to help him walk to bed.  
Like the day before, she helped him out of his clothes and into his sleeping pants. She then laid him down and tucked him in.  
Before Derek could say anything, she walked around the bed to join him. Laying down, Penelope covered herself with a blanket and snuggled up against the man she loved so much.  
"I'm here, alright? I won't go anywhere, Angelfish," she whispered when he pulled her clumsy in his arms.  
She kissed his cheek when she saw him staring at the ceiling.  
"Sleep. You'll need it."  
Some more tears streamed down his face, but he nodded and closed his red-rimmed eyes. It took a while until Derek finally relaxed and fell asleep, still holding her close. Penelope watched him for a long time but eventually fell asleep in his arms.


	4. Chapter 3

**Hello again, I hope you're all doing fine and have a great weekend! Here we are** **with the next chapter, and I hope you enjoy it as much as I enjoyed writing it! Thank you for reading, favoriting, following my story and all the wonderful reviews! Some of you guessed why Derek is suffering, in this chapter, we'll see if you were right :)**  
 **I own nothing.**

* * *

Like the day before, Derek woke up with a nasty headache. He felt like shit and ashamed of his behavior. This time he could remember everything. Penelope's gaze had been full of worry just because of him. He didn't want her to worry about him, Derek wasn't worth it.  
He felt like a burden to her, and that wasn't his goal. '  
What had happened to him? 'This wasn't him, this wasn't what he was used to be.  
Derek sighed deeply and turned around to lay on his side. He slowly opened his eyes and was relieved she wasn't here, but also sad. The only person who would be able to help him would be Penelope, but Derek needed some more strength to talk to her so she could work her magic on him.  
How to get this strength?  
Derek didn't know.  
But it was like she'd sensed he was awake. Penelope came into the sleeping area a moment later. She walked around the bed and laid down, turning around so they could look at each other. Penelope smiled at him and placed one hand on his. She was the most beautiful woman right here right now. Derek could've watched her for hours, but eventually, Penelope began to speak.  
"Hey, Handsome," she squeezed his hand, and he tried, really tried to smile back but failed immediately.  
"I'm so sorry," he whispered hoarsely, afraid of what she was about to say.  
"Don't. I mean you don't have to be sorry. Handsome, could you listen to me for a sec before you say anything?"  
He nodded, nervous and afraid, but she smiled again before she started. It couldn't be that bad couldn't it?  
"Alright. So we both know you have a problem which isn't called Savannah, maybe she's the reason you're drinking, but that's a problem Derek, you know that right?"  
She asked, and he nodded again, tears were burning in his eyes. He knew she was right, so right.  
"I'm here, and I want to help you, but you have to talk to me. What's bothering you so much that you feel you must numb your pain with alcohol? Talk to me Hot Stuff, please. I cannot help you if I don't know what's going on in that beautiful and sexy head of yours. Please."  
Tears were glistening in her eyes, and she tried to hold them back, Derek could see it. Slowly, he nodded again.  
"I'm trying, Baby Girl," hoarsely he answered her and closed his eyes for a moment, trying to control himself. It wasn't as easy as he hoped it would be.  
"Take your time, we have the whole day and night and as long as you want to stay."  
He smiled weakly and opened his eyes again. Derek decided he had to talk to Penelope.  
Now or never.  
He would never be ready to talk about it, and deep inside him, he knew it. Penelope handed him a glass of water and some much-needed painkillers before he started talking. Derek swallowed them down with the water and placed the glass on her nightstand. He then turned around again to face Penelope. He didn't know where to start and opened his mouth here and then but stopped to think about what he wanted to say. Penelope laid there, holding his hand and waited for him. Derek then decided just to start somewhere, he had told Penelope about. Maybe he could go on from there.  
"I told you, Savannah cheated on me, right?"  
"Yes."  
He nodded again and swallowed hard. Derek tried to find the right words, but he found there weren't right words to describe what had happened to him. Anyway, he began to talk again. Derek needed to spit it out if he wanted to heal.  
"She did it the whole time since we began dating. Even before. She had this man for more than six years. I found out after my last visit at the BAU. I came home earlier and found her in our bed together with that doctor. He has a wife, and we've been to dinner at there place a hell of a lot. I didn't recognize anything. After all that profiling, I didn't recognize what was going on between my wife and another doctor. The thing is...I didn't care just one bit, but the other thing..."  
He sighed deeply, and Penelope squeezed his hand again. Derek couldn't bear looking at her.  
He closed his eyes.  
Tears were burning behind his lids. It was too hard to talk about it, so he took a break and tried to calm down. It didn't work.  
"Hank's not my child, either," he whispered then. Penelope gasped.  
"Oh no...," she whispered in shock.  
"I realized it when that bastard held my...held his son in his arms. They have the same eyes. I did a paternity test then. It's true. The boy who has my fathers and best friends name, who has the best godparents in the whole world isn't my son."  
Tears began to stream down his cheeks, Derek couldn't stop them anymore. He didn't want to, to be honest. It was the first time Derek talked about this to anyone. It was like a poison to hold it back, he realized now.  
"I always wanted to be a father, wanted to be happily married, have my own family...even if Savannah wasn't the woman who I wanted to be with, in the first place. I wasn't hurt when I found out. To be honest, I tried to break up with her, but when I found out she was pregnant...I was some kind of happy. Having Hank in my life was a blessing. But now he isn't my son, Penelope," he talked faster and faster. Now that he'd began to speak he couldn't stop anymore.  
"Then I couldn't reach you, Spencer, or the other's, and I felt so lost. I didn't know what to do. I just...just...," Derek tried to tell something more, but his voice broke, and he began to sob out of control. Never in decades he'd felt so lost. Derek had started to drink his pain away, it had been the only thing he'd been able to do in the past two months. Derek hadn't even been able to talk to his mom. Fran Morgan had been so happy, having her first grandchild, he couldn't have told her, Hank wasn't his son.  
Penelope shifted closer and wrapped her arms around him.  
"I'm so so sorry Derek," she whispered.  
Derek hid his face in the crook of her neck, and for the second time in one day, he cried until he felt limp and exhausted again.  
Penelope stroke circles around his back with one hand and held him close to her with the other. Derek couldn't be more grateful for having this woman, the only woman he'd ever loved in his life. She was able to calm him down, she was able to relax him in some way he'd never been able to. Penelope was his home, his God-given solace and he trusted her with all his being. He wrapped his arms around her and held her close. With her, Derek would be able to work things out, with her Derek was able to think clearly. But right now, all he felt was tiredness. So Derek closed his eyes after a moment and fell asleep immediately, feeling relaxed and safe in Penelope's arms.  
When he woke up again, everything was dark anew, but he felt Penelope's body pressed against his and his arms around her waist. Nuzzling his face into her neck, he felt at ease. She sighed and put her hand over his.  
"Are you alright Hot Stuff?", she whispered in a sleepy voice, and Derek nodded, holding her close.  
"Yeah," he whispered back. With Penelope at his side, no one could hurt him anymore. Really, he needed to tell her how he felt about her.  
"I'm here, whatever it is, wake me up Angelfish, I want to help you," she murmured.  
"I will, promise," he whispered back, closing his eyes again. Right now, Derek just felt relaxed. He'd understood Penelope would help him, that she wanted to. Derek vowed to himself to wake her if he felt like he needed a drink.  
"That's good, you don't want me to spank you," she murmured half asleep, and Derek chuckled.  
"If it's you who'll spank me, I have to overthink it first," he joked, whispering and felt her body shaking with laughter.  
"Here you are back, Handsome."  
Derek could hear a smile in her words and pulled her closer to him if that was even possible.  
"Thank you Baby Girl," he whispered. "For everything you did and about to do, thank you."  
"You're welcome my noir hero. I'll always be at your side."  
"You know I love you, right?"  
"Yes, you know I love you too," she murmured before she fell back to sleep.  
"Yeah," he whispered, wishing it had another meaning. But tomorrow he would tell Penelope, how his words were meant. Derek would do anything to make her understand he loved her so much.  
The next morning came fast, and Derek opened his eyes again. Penelope still clung to him, wrapped her arms around him, they laid face to face. He held her in his arms, watching her sleeping expression. God, even without makeup she was the most beautiful woman in the world to him. Perfect from head to toe. He smiled at this view right in front of him, and eventually kissed her forehead.  
Penelope stirred in his arms and opened her eyes to look at him. They shone with attraction and love for a moment as she began to smile at him.  
"Good morning, Baby Girl," he managed to say after a moment, surprised by the look in her eyes but smiled back at her.  
"Oh I'll show you a good morning Hot Stuff," she answered, beginning to grin from ear to ear.  
Derek just couldn't help himself and grin back.  
"I can't wait, Baby Girl," he answered then hugged her to his body. He couldn't have her close enough right now.  
Penelope instantly hugged him back, placing her head on his chest, sighing.  
"I could wake up like this every morning for the rest of my life. Having a sexy Chocolate Thunder at my side," she whispered while he held her in his arms.  
"Me too. Having the most beautiful woman from the inside and outside is everything I need."  
"Oh stop making fun of me, or I really have to spank you, Mr. hot and sexy!"  
"I'm not joking, Ms. Thang!" Derek put his hand under her chin to make her look at him. "I'm honest, and I meant what I said yesterday and today," he whispered and almost meant to see tears in her eyes, but Penelope closed them fast enough and snuggled up against him.  
"I have to believe you then, Hot Stuff," she answered.  
"I beg you to."  
"You're the winner today, then! Me making you a great breakfast is the price! That's alright?"  
Derek looked at her, she didn't understand what he tried to tell her, or she didn't believe him, but he would do anything to show her how he felt about her.  
"Sounds good to me," he answered, kissing her forehead once more before letting her go out of his embrace.  
"I'm taking a shower and join you in the kitchen.  
Penelope nodded and gave him a last smile before she got out of bed. Putting her night robe on, she headed to the kitchen area of her apartment.  
Derek got out of bed too and took a short hot shower. He put on fresh clothes and headed to the kitchen to meet Penelope.  
She was already done getting breakfast ready and poured both of them a big cup of coffee.  
"Sit, Anglefish, sit and enjoy," she said with a grin and placed the cups on her table. Derek did what he'd been told to and sat down.  
They ate together, talking and smiling at each other, not realizing that someone was watching them from the outside.

* * *

Outside, a skinny woman with long brown hair was watching Penelope and Derek from the shadows. A mean grin was forming her lips as she watched them smiling at each other.  
Savannah had always known, Derek loved that fat cow he was now with. She'd had to be friendly to Penelope Garcia and had hated it. Savannah ever had known that that fat geeky nerd would steel Derek from her at one point. She didn't even see that Derek had left her because she'd cheated on him, right now the fat woman, sitting beside Derek was the woman she wanted to destroy for ruining Savanna and Derek's marriage.  
Derek hadn't been home for two months. Savannah didn't know where he'd been. She supposed he'd been with her, god how could he love that woman when he had the perfection right in front of him? Savannah shook her head in disbelief. Penelope would need to suffer, just like Derek would need to. Right now she didn't know what she would do with that happy couple in front of her, but she would make them suffer a lot that was for sure.  
Turning around she left the garden in front of Penelope's house and walked back to her car, where her and Derek's son was waiting. Savannah knew that Derek was sure Hank wasn't his son.  
She kissed her son's forehead and started her car.  
"So, Baby Boy, mommy has a lot of work to do to get your daddy back and to kill this fat cow," she told him in a sing-song voice, knowing he still wouldn't understand any of his words. Hank was a bit more than one year old and gabbled happily at his mother's words, smiling at her with his bright eyes.  
Savannah smiled at her son and drove home to get her plans ready.

* * *

 **Tell me what do you think :)**


	5. Chapter 4

While Derek was sleeping almost the whole day, after their talking, Penelope had made some calls to let Spencer and Emily know what was wrong with Derek.  
Spencer had been so angry as Penelope hadn't seen him often. But she could understand, she felt the same way. Derek didn't deserve what Savannah had done to him.  
Emily gave her a few more days off and suggested if Derek felt better he would always be welcomed back to the BAU with open arms. Penelope told Emily to mention it towards Derek when he felt better. Penelope didn't want to stress him more. Before he could start to work again, he would definitely need to work his problems out. There were many questions Penelope needed an answer for. And she bet Derek would need an answer too. It didn't seem like he had thought about what to do now.  
After their chat, when Derek had fallen asleep again, she cleaned up the apartment, reminding silent so Derek could sleep. She locked all her wine away, just in case. Penelope wouldn't get a lot more days off. And if Derek didn't feel better until then, Penelope didn't want him to feel invited to drink. She couldn't stop him if he would want to, but in her apartment, she had a chance to help him in that way.  
A few times she felt like someone was watching her, but every time she looked out of the window there was no one to be seen. Penelope shrugged and did her work, she even cooked some dinner and checked a few times on Derek, but he remained fast asleep. Penelope smiled at his sleeping form, watching his more relaxed expression. She placed a bottle of water on his bedside, Derek would be thirsty if he would wake up again, but she refused to wake him up. That sleep was much-needed.  
While she did some work on her home computer for Emily, she remembered his words and focused on a sentence she hadn't understand but hesitated to ask. He'd told her he hadn't wanted a relationship anymore with Savannah until he'd found out she'd been pregnant with Hank. Who was the woman he wanted to be together with? It seemed like he was thinking about a very special woman when he'd told her about it.  
"Whoever it is, she's a lucky woman," Penelope whispered, while she was doing her work.  
Late in the evening, Penelope decided to take a shower, and after that, she headed to bed too. She was tired and laid down beside Derek, turning towards him to caress his cheek lovingly.  
Derek didn't even stir just one time.  
When he woke up in the night for a few moments, he remained calm and relaxed during their short talk. All Penelope remembered was him holding her so close to his body. She'd felt loved and protected. Penelope hadn't slept that well in years.  
They had breakfast together, and Penelope suggested then, to go out into the park having a walk. It was a sunny day, and she refused to sit inside her apartment the whole day.  
Derek agreed immediately, so they got ready and left her apartment. They headed to the park and walked together in silence. At some point, during their walk, Derek searched for her hand and entwined their fingers. Penelope looked at him in surprise but didn't pull away. To be honest, she liked the feeling of their entwined fingers. So Penelope smiled and squeezed his hand. Derek returned her smile with so much more affection than she'd remembered seeing in his eyes.  
"Hey, are you good?" She asked him, curious about his behavior these last few hours since he'd told her he loved her. It couldn't be that way, he couldn't love her the way she actually loved him. She shook her head silently and rolled her eyes at these thoughts. Derek Morgan in love with a fat nerd like her? Never ever gonna happen!  
"Baby Girl?" Derek asked then, which caused her to snap out of her thoughts?"  
"Uhm, did you say something?"  
"I told you I'm okay and asked you how you are but you rolled your eyes and shook your head," he smiled a bit, but seemed to be unsure because of her behavior, Penelope felt mad about it, she didn't want him to feel that way.  
"Oh I'm so sorry, Hot Stuff, I didn't want you to think I'm not interested in you, I was just thinking...you know..."  
"I know Baby Girl," Derek smirked at her words, but just one second before he asked again. "But really, are you good, I'm not too much for you?"  
Penelope stopped at his question and took his other hand in his, so she was standing in front of him. He watched her, and she smiled.  
"You, my Chocolate Thunder, will never be enough for me. Alright?" He nodded, and Penelope squeezed both of his hands.  
"I was just wondering, you know? You're acting...different to me...but that's not important now, we can talk about it at another point, alright?" Penelope let go of his hands and hugged him. Derek wrapped his arms around her and kissed the top of her head.  
"Alright, when you want to talk about it, we talk," Derek answered silently, leaning his head on hers. Penelope closed her eyes and leaned into him for a moment. She would need to observe him carefully, right now she wasn't brave enough to talk about the things between them. Penelope had to be sure of Derek's feelings for her. Just then she would be able to tell him, how she felt about him.  
She squeezed him again and looked up at him.  
"Hey, how about some ice cream? I really could use some. How about you?"  
"Sounds good to me, Baby Girl." He smiled again and slowly cupped one of her cheeks. "Whatever you like to do, I'm all in."  
Penelope leaned into Derek's touch and just kept wondering but also enjoying this closeness to her best friend she'd missed so much. Then, to her surprise, Derek bent his head towards her. He looked at her lips for a second and leaned in. Penelope's heart began to race in her chest. She stared at him, with wide eyes when suddenly they got interrupted by a familiar voice.  
"Oh, I see, you're enjoying the time without your wife and son!"  
Derek's face became hard and emotionless when he turned around to face his wife.  
"Savannah. What do you want?" He almost growled, ignoring Hank who was reaching out to him and Penelope.  
"I wanted to know where you are, you left us." Savannah smiled and came a step closer to them, which caused Derek to pull out of Penelope's arms and walk a few steps back, his hands raised in defeat.  
"I don't want you closer, Savannah, I don't even want to talk to you anymore. We will get divorced, and I don't want to see you again."  
"You want to leave me? Why? For her?" Savannah mentioned at Penelope in a fury voice, suddenly very angry.  
"I'm going to leave you because you cheated on me, Savannah. I leave you because you lied to me from the beginning of our relationship, I leave you because you told me Hank is my son, but he isn't. Isn't that enough?"  
Penelope walked over to Derek's side. She could see he needed strength for this chat with Savannah.  
"Nothing of that is the real reason, your leaving me because of that fat nerdy cow! I won't let you, you belong to me, you belong to our son!"  
"No!" Derek roared suddenly, Penelope jumped at his side. She'd never seen him in such a rage. Even Hank began to cry at his mother's side.  
"Don't talk about Penelope like this! Stop it now, I'm leaving you! That's all you'll hear from me, nothing more. Oh, wait. Go fuck yourself!"  
Penelope took Derek's hand in hers and squeezed it. She was grateful for Derek protecting her from Savannah, but all Penelope wanted was to get him out of this situation.  
"Come on, let's go," she said silently, and Derek nodded slowly. They turned around to leave, but Savannah yelled after them.  
"I'm not gonna let that happen, Derek Morgan, you won't leave me, I'll do anything!"  
"Ignore her, just come on," Penelope tried to stay tough for Derek, it wasn't easy, especially when she looked into his face. Derek wasn't relaxed anymore, his face was a hardened mask as he walked beside her.  
They reached her home, and as soon they were inside of her apartment, the door was locked, Derek punched several times into a wall. Penelope watched him with concern, she knew he had to get his anger off, but it hurt her to see him like this again. He'd been so relaxed the whole morning.  
She sighed and put a hand on his shoulder when he stopped beating the wall.  
"Hey Handsome, let me check your hand, alright?"  
"How could she talk about you like that?" Derek only answered, turning around to look at her. Penelope smiled gently at him and shrugged.  
"I've been called worse and to be honest, she's telling the truth, but I'm alright with that. I'm a nerd, and I'm fat, so don't be angry about this."  
She mentioned to sit Derek down on her couch, what he did, but he didn't stop looking at her.  
"You're not, Baby Girl. You're perfect in every way I can tell. It's not right to call you like that."  
Penelope sat down beside him and checked his hand. Tears were fighting to come out, but she refused to. Derek's words were so kind, she didn't understand that. Savannah was right, and Derek told her otherwise.  
"It's nice to say that, Hot Stuff, but you know it isn't true. I've got some ointment in my bathroom for your hand. It'll bruise if you don't take care of it." She wanted to rose to her feet, but Derek stopped her. He grabbed her by her hands, so she couldn't do anything else but remain at his side.  
"Look at me, please."  
Penelope sighed and turned around to look at him. She was sure he could see the tears in her eyes. He smiled at her most gently and cupped her cheeks with his hands.  
"Why do you say that, Baby Girl? Don't you believe what I'm saying?" He asked concern in his voice. He wanted her to believe him, Penelope realized then. She also realized how much Savannah's words had hurt her indeed. Penelope had thought they were friends, she hadn't imagined Savannah could be that mean.  
"I want to, but...I mean look at me," she whispered, fighting to hold back her tears. This should be about him, not her, but Derek appeared like he wanted to talk about it.  
"I do, I did many times, and it's like I said. You're perfect to me, Baby Girl, in every single way. You told it yesterday: don't let Savannah get you down. Don't let her get you down too. She was jealous because of our relationship, it's not the truth what she's saying."  
Penelope nodded, slowly believing in Derek's words.  
"I'm sorry, it's alright. You're right it's not true what Savannah is saying."  
She sighed and closed her eyes for a moment, fighting her tears back.  
"It's not, you're more beautiful from inside and outside than Savannah can ever be. I love you, silly girl, don't you dare forget that."  
Penelope smiled and opened her eyes again to look at him.  
"I love you too, my noir hero, who's always there when needed, thank you so much," she answered and couldn't stop smiling at his handsome face. Derek pulled her into his arms, and she welcomed him. They sat together in silence for a while, but Penelope wouldn't be Penelope if she didn't want to know how Derek was feeling.  
"How are you doing now?" She asked him, not moving out of his arms because they felt too right around her.  
"I'm alright I think. I mean, Savannah just proved that I have to leave her. She doesn't understand what she did wrong, and I don't think she will. Even if she would, I don't want her back."  
Penelope listened to him in silence.  
"I'm with you every step of the way, but what will you do now? I mean, yeah you want to get divorced. But what about Hank?"  
Derek remained silent for a while. When Penelope didn't think she would get an answer anymore and started to apologize, Derek interrupted her.  
"I'm not sure yet, but I love that little boy. I mean I raised him since he was born as my son...I don't think I can leave that boy behind."  
"You shouldn't. I know you love Hank, he's is essential for you, like you are for him. You saw how much he reached out to you."  
Derek nodded slowly, stroking circles around her back with.  
"He's done nothing wrong, and he see's me as his father," he whispered then, hoarsely.  
"He still can be your little boy, no matter what."  
"Yes, I'll fight to get him back. Savannah's not the right person to raise him." Derek said slowly. He kissed her forehead and sighed deeply.  
"Thank you, Baby Girl."  
"I didn't do anything," she tried to say, but Derek stopped her.  
"Are you kidding me? If I hadn't you, I would be lost, silly girl, so don't tell me you didn't do anything. Really. You mean the world to me, always. And I'm grateful that you're here with me, that you don't leave me behind."  
This time, Penelope couldn't stop her tears from falling. She hugged Derek as firm as possible.  
"I would never leave you behind, Hot Stuff, never," she snuggled up against him. "You're my world too!"  
"I know I told you earlier I love you, but I also know you didn't understand. When I told you I wanted to break up with Savannah, it was the truth. After I've almost died, I realized it was you I wanted to be with."  
"Derek..."  
"No, stop it, Penelope. It's been you for a long time. I haven't been brave enough, you've been with Kevin, then with Sam. I've been with Savannah. All I've ever wanted was to be with you. I love you, Penelope."  
A sob escaped Penelope's lips as she listened to him. She looked at him, tears were streaming down her face.  
"You really mean that?" She asked him, searching for the truth in his words.  
"I do," he whispered and placed one hand on her cheek to wipe her tears away.  
"I love you so much, Baby Girl," he whispered. This time, when Derek leaned in, Penelope closed her eyes. When his lips finally met hers in the sweetest kiss, she'd ever experienced, Penelope knew, she was in heaven.


	6. Chapter 5

Finally, Derek felt Penelope's lips on his. They were incredibly soft and tasted so damn sweet. Just like he'd always imagined them. He closed his eyes and if it was even possible, pulled her closer while they shared their first kiss. Only the need for air made them tear apart for a moment. Derek looked at the most beautiful woman in front of him. Her pink lips were slightly swollen, her eyes were big and red-rimmed from earlier tears. She began to smile a bit unsure after a moment.  
"That was...wow...I mean, just like I ever imagined it," Penelope whispered. He grinned and nodded.  
"Just what I thought Baby Girl."  
Penelope began to giggle and shook her head.  
"Oh my Gosh, I can't believe it! It's like a dream becoming truth, finally."  
Her eyes were shining when she locked hers with his again. She touched Derek's cheek gently.  
"You're real, I mean, it's not a dream, isn't it?" She asked again, and Derek chuckled.  
"It's not a dream, silly girl. It's all real," he answered, giving her another soft kiss as he pulled her closer again. Penelope responded and threw her arms around his neck. She sighed into their kiss, genuinely enjoying what they were doing.  
Derek let his hands wander over her back. Now he felt like he was allowed to do that and hell, it felt good!  
"I never, really never thought you would love me that way," Penelope said slowly after they pulled apart for the second time. She leaned her head against his chest while he held her close to him.  
"Why shouldn't I? I could also say I never thought you would love me. That's why I never said a word to you. I didn't want to destroy our friendship."  
Derek had at least wanted to be together with her as a friend if she didn't love him. He needed her close, she was his God-given solace.  
"I'm glad you told me now," Penelope answered. Derek could hear she was smiling.  
"I'm glad, too!"  
Derek kissed her forehead. Forgotten was all the trouble with Savannah, he just felt love and happiness for the moment.  
The following hour passed by slowly but without doing anything. Derek and Penelope just enjoyed each other's closeness, exploring the new feeling of their relationship.  
The ringing of Derek's cell phone interrupted them, they both jumped in surprise. Derek chuckled and grabbed his phone.  
"It's Reid calling, I better get it," Derek mentioned and slid his finger over the lock screen.  
"Hey, Pretty Boy, what's going on?"  
"Morgan...I just wanted to know how you're doing, is everything alright?" Spencer appeared concerned about him, so Derek suggested that Penelope already told his old team what was going on, a look in her direction showed him that too.  
"Yeah, everything's alright. We met Savannah today at the park. I'm going to get divorced as soon as possible." He informed his best friend and little brother.  
"It's better that way. I don't think you two would get together anymore at any point."  
"Yeah, it's better that way. I should've listened to my gut feeling. I'm just glad when it's over, and I don't have to see that woman anymore."  
Derek could almost see Spencer nodding when the younger man remained silent for a moment.  
"Hey, if you want to, come over," Derek suggested. Penelope nodded against his chest.  
"We order pizza and watch a movie or two."  
"Sounds great, I'll get the pizza on my way."  
"Alright, see you, pretty boy."  
Derek ended the call and put the cell phone away.  
"Is that really okay?" Derek asked then. Penelope nodded and looked at him with a smile.  
"You definitely need some time with our Boy Wonder, I'll take my time to visit JJ and Henry. Will's at work tonight, and we're not working on a case, so I bet she'll have time for me."  
Derek slowly moved his hands up and down Penelope's spine, while he listened to her.  
"I don't want to throw you out of your own apartment, Baby Girl," he said then.  
"Oh no, you don't. And I really, really need to talk to JJ about a thing that happened today!"  
Derek chuckled and shook his head in amusement.  
"Alright, that I can understand, Baby Girl. You women need your chat then."  
"Definitely! I have to tell her, I mean if that's alright?"  
"Baby Girl. I know you, you can't keep it in. And even if you could, it's alright. I'm not regretting anything that happened between us."  
Penelope smiled at him and placed a soft kiss on Derek's lips. He smiled into the kiss.  
"Same here, Hot Stuff," Penelope answered, grinning after they pulled apart again. She looked at him for another moment and shook her head then. "I still can't believe it," she said again as she rose to her feet.  
"Gotta get ready, so you'll have your time with Spence." Penelope walked into the bathroom freshening up herself, and a few minutes later, they said goodbye to each other after Penelope had everything she would need for a visit to JJ's. Penelope opened the door to her apartment, but Derek put a hand on her shoulder, to make her turn around to him. When she faced him with a smile, he put her into his arms again and gave her one last kiss before she would go.  
Penelope pressed herself against him and wrapped her arms around his neck. The kiss grew more passionate with every moment but suddenly stopped when they heard someone coughing slightly. Derek looked up to face Spencer, grinning at him and Penelope.  
"Well, that wasn't what I expected, but it's welcomed. And about time," Spencer said, amused but also happy.  
"About time?" Penelope asked, still glued to Derek.  
"Sure, we were wondering when the two of you will finally realize that you're perfect for each other," Spencer answered, shrugging.  
"Is that so?" Derek asked, with amusement in his voice. Shaking his head, he gave Penelope a final kiss. "Well then, I want to know more about this, have fun, silly girl. I surely will have," he said to the love of his life. They said their goodbyes, and when Penelope finally had left to visit JJ, Derek and Spencer walked inside to have dinner and a chat.  
They sat down on the couch with their pizza and a soda for each of them.  
"So, you and Garcia?" Spencer asked after he swallowed down a bite of his pizza. Derek nodded slowly and looked at his little brother for a moment.  
"Yeah, I mean, like you said it, it's about time. We both waisted too much time, pretty boy but I'm trying to make it up now."  
"I'm glad for both of you. It's not often that I would say something like that, but you're made for each other. It's good you finally realized it."  
Derek nodded.  
He'd always known that his younger brother didn't like Savannah that much. Spencer had barely visited them, mostly when Savannah had been at work.  
"You knew something was wrong with her, didn't you?" Derek asked after a moment, getting a bite from his pizza. Chewing and waiting for an answer he looked at his best friend.  
"I just didn't get the point on it," Spencer confirmed and nodded with his words. "It's just...there was something strange about her behavior. Now I know, and I wish I weren't right. But also I'm glad she's out of your life."  
Derek looked at Spencer, stunned. Spencer had always accepted his relationships, but never said something about a woman.  
"Okay, why didn't you mention anything?"  
"You had a baby on the way. I wouldn't do that. I mean, a baby raised by both of his parents grows up happier and healthier than other children. I wanted Hank to have the best options he would get."  
Derek nodded in understanding. Now, the doctor was speaking out of Spencer Reid.  
"Alright, I got it. Tomorrow I will go to a divorce lawyer, to get my divorce papers ready for Savannah to sign. After that, I don't want to see her again, ever."  
"What about Hank?" Spencer asked then, looking at Derek.  
"I want to have him with me. That boy hasn't done anything wrong. He's a good boy, and I love him no matter what," Derek's voice became hoarse, but he tried to stay cool.  
This time, it was Spencer who nodded in understanding.  
"I would say, your chances are high, you'll get him with you. You're not working at the time, but have enough money from renting out your houses. Savannah has a full-time job, she has to work in the night, and it might be that she get's a call in the middle of the day when no babysitter is available."  
Derek grinned, he just loved how realistic Spencer could be. It was much-needed right now. Spencer helped him to get his head clear. Derek appreciated that very much. He knew he needed to sort things out. Some were possible to do with Penelope, others just with Spencer.  
"I think that too. And, the second point is, Savannah doesn't see herself in the part of having done something wrong. I bet if they test her mental status she isn't even able to raise a child. You know I wanted to break up with her the day she told me she was pregnant." Derek told Spencer before he took another bite of his slice of pizza.  
"When something happened, we're always wiser," answered Spencer and Derek nodded in agreement.  
They ate the rest of their pizza and talked about happier themes. They had a lot to catch up on and talked until the early morning hours. Just when Spencer had left, Derek began to wonder when Penelope would come home. He cleaned up the living room where he and Spencer had sat the whole time and tried to call Penelope after that. Three times Derek just got the mailbox. He sighed and decided to call JJ.  
"Hello?" A sleepy JJ answered the phone and Derek grew more concerned.  
"JJ? Is Penelope at yours?" He asked her directly, he couldn't wait for her to wake up fully. Derek had an awful feeling in his gut and needed answers.  
"Derek? No, apparently not, she left our house, uhm, wait how late is it?"  
"It's four in the morning. When did Penelope leave?"  
"She left at midnight...Derek, what's wrong, isn't she with you? She wanted to head home to you right after she'd left," a suddenly fully awake JJ told him. "Please tell me she's home."  
"No, no she isn't, JJ...fuck," he growled, pacing around the room. He felt distressed, he needed to find out where Penelope was right now.  
"Alright Morgan, stay calm. I'll call Emily and the rest of the team. We'll find her. Listen? We'll find her it's going to be okay."  
Derek nodded. He sighed and really tried to calm down, but it didn't work as well as he wanted it to.  
"I'm trying JJ. Maybe she had an accident, I'm going to call the hospitals around here and ask if she came in the last few hours."  
"Alright, I'll call the others. We meet you at Penelope's in a few. And Morgan. Don't do anything on your own, alright? Wait for us, we're going to help you."  
"Alright JJ, but please, hurry. I don't think she had an accident. I think someone kidnapped her."  
Derek didn't want to mention Savannah's name, but he couldn't help himself. He paced through the room, calling every hospital in and around Quantico.  
Not to his surprise, there was no Penelope Garcia in any of them. Derek growled in frustration and went to the door when someone knocked at it.  
He opened the door much too fast, and it banged against the wall.  
Spencer was standing in front of him. He hadn't been that far away when he got JJ's call and was the first one who appeared at Garcia's apartment.  
"Come on in," Derek growled, he was too worried about Penelope and began to pace around her living area as soon as Reid was inside.  
Soon, JJ, Emily, Rossi, Alvez, and Tara joined them in Garcia's apartment.  
"So, what do we have?" Alvez asked as soon as they were all together sitting around the kitchen table.  
"I can't prove it, but I think it's Savannah...," Derek answered promptly. He just knew it was his wife who kidnapped Penelope. Derek just hoped that she didn't hurt the love of his life until now.  
"Why do you think so?" Tara asked him, and he sighed. He hated to explain the why's, Derek just wanted to go to Savannah and get Penelope back. With shaking hands, he began to describe, anyway.  
"We met Savannah today in the park. She mentioned she would do anything to get me back. I knew she was jealous of mine and Penelope's relationship."  
JJ nodded in agreement. "Garcie told me earlier when she visited me. "  
"Yes she was, she thought I'd left her because of Penelope, which wasn't the first reason why I left," Derek told them. The team needed to know everything that was for sure, even if he didn't like to discuss it with all of them.  
"Alright, so you left her, and she saw you together with Penelope. Was there something that could have triggered the thought's, you left her because of Penelope?" Emily asked then, and Derek's heart sank.  
"Yeah," he answered hoarsely.  
"And that is?" Rossi asked. The whole team was looking at him when he answered Rossi's question.  
"I was about to kiss her when Savannah interrupted us."  
A stunned silence grew in the room, everyone was staring at him, but JJ and Reid, they had known it before and weren't surprised.  
"But this isn't about a kiss! This is about Penelope missing. For almost five hours, so please!" Derek growled. The others snapped back of their stunned expressions.  
"You're right, Morgan, but I just have to say this one thing: It was about damn time!" Emily said with a small smile.  
Derek returned the smile for a moment and nodded. They went back to work soon after. Penelope's cell phone had no signal anymore when they tried to call it again. The GPS wasn't active too so they had no chance to do much more until the kidnapper would call Derek.  
Derek's cell phone rang around eight in the morning for the first time. It was Savannah calling.  
Derek looked at his former team and unlocked the screen to answer the call. He put her on the speakerphone before he started speaking.  
"Savannah? What do you want?"  
"Derek my love. I think you want to talk to me...," Savannah answered in a sing-song voice. "...because I have someone here with me who's hurt and about to die if you don't do what I want!"


	7. Chapter 6

Penelope led her car, Esther to JJ's place. She parked it right in front of her besties house, climbed out of the car, locked it and hurried to get to the door. Penelope couldn't wait to tell JJ everything that had happened today.  
Derek had kissed her!  
"Oh my god, oh my god, oh my god," she murmured to herself while she rang the doorbell and waited for JJ to open the doors.  
When JJ actually did open the door, Penelope rushed inside and gave her a big bear hug.  
"JJ, you cannot believe what happened today!" She began to say but got interrupted by her beautiful godson Henry who came running to her.  
"Hey, auntie Garcie!" He greeted her and gave her a big hug.  
"I did a painting on school, it's a present for you!" He said, grinning and mentioned Penelope to follow him.  
"Alright, I can't wait to see it," she answered, grinning too. She looked at JJ who shrugged and smiled at her.  
"I'll fix us some coffee while you get your present then," JJ said and walked to the kitchen. Penelope then followed her godson to get her painting from him. It looked quite beautiful, Henry did a picture of his favorite people. There were JJ, Will and Henry's little brother on it, but also her and Spencer, they were all in the garden outside, smiling.  
"Wow, Henry that's so beautiful. It'll get a nice place in my apartment, I promise!"  
"Okay, but I wanna see it, auntie Penelope!"  
"You get to see it as soon as you come over together with your mom, dad, and little brother," she answered said, smiling at this cute boy. He'd grown a lot in the last year, and she wondered what Derek would say if he would get to see that once so tiny boy.  
"Cool!" Henry answered, grinning. "Well, I have to do some homework now," he told her, rolling his eyes. "But can I join you and Mom later when I'm finished?"  
"Sure you can as soon as you're ready, sweetie," Penelope answered smiling. She gave her godson a kiss on his forehead and left his room together with her new painting.  
Penelope walked back into the kitchen, grinning from ear to ear. Her day couldn't get better.  
JJ was watching her with curiosity as she sat down beside her.  
"So what's going on? Did you meet someone? I mean if that's even possible with Derek around?" JJ asked as soon as she'd poured Penelope a cup of coffee.  
"Well Jayjie, that, exactly is the thing. I wanted to make it thrilling, but I just can't stop it! Derek kissed me! He kissed me on the lips, Jayjie AND he enjoyed it. Derek told me that he loves me more than one time in these last couple of days. At first, I thought he meant it like, you know, friendly, but he meant it like love. JJ LOVE, he loves me, can you believe it?"  
Penelope wanted to go on, but JJ interrupted her. She placed a hand on Penelope's and stopped her.  
"Wait for a second, Garcie. He kissed you? Can you please start at the beginning?"  
"Yes, he did. I mean, I still can't believe it!"  
Penelope inhaled a deep breath and started then.  
"You know he showed up at my home two days ago," she said then, trying to calm herself down. JJ nodded, so she went on.  
"Alright. You know Derek had been drunk two times. I know now that he'd left Savannah. He'd told me yesterday that she'd never been the woman he wanted to marry. Derek did that just because she'd been pregnant with Hank. But Hank isn't his child. Savannah cheated on him."  
JJ nodded in understanding. "That's really sad Garcie, how does he feel?"  
"He's okay. I mean, he drunk a lot the last two month's, but I think he'll manage it with some time. We met Savannah today at the park. She was such a bitch!" Penelope shook her head in disbelieve. "And I thought she was cute, I was alright with her at Derek's side...if I couldn't have him."  
"What did she do?"  
"She caught us right in time when I thought Derek was about to kiss me. Savannah offended me, she told Derek she knew he would leave her because of me. But I mean, there are more than enough reasons why he actually left her."  
JJ nodded.  
"Yeah, cheating was the worst thing she could do. He has such a hard time to trust people. I really can understand why he's hurt. I think he saw no other way than to numb his pain like this. What happened then?"  
"I understand too, but you can't imagine how much it had hurt to see him like this. When he cried in my arms, god...," Penelope whispered and wiped away a few tears which stroke down her face.  
"What happened then, I can tell you Jayjie. We headed home, and he was so angry. But not because we met Savannah because she offended me."  
"Isn't he cute?" JJ answered, smiling. Penelope nodded and took a sip of her still hot coffee.  
"He is! But then it actually happened. He kissed me!"  
JJ began to grin from ear to ear.  
"Honestly? It's about time you two finally made a move!"  
Penelope blushed but also grinned at her best friend.  
"Reid said that too! I mean, I knew I loved him, but I was definitely afraid. Look at the women he dated before and look at me, I'm not really that kind of Barbie-type he used to date."  
"Stop right there Garcie," JJ interrupted her speech. "You are beautiful in every important way."  
Penelope smiled a bit at her best friend.  
"Thank you, Derek said that too, I think I have to believe you," she said. People had always used to treat her like a fat nerd but since she'd met the people at the BAU things had positively changed a lot.  
"You have to. I honestly have never met a person like you before, but I wouldn't want you to change just one single bit."  
"Thanks, Jayjie." Penelope gave her best friend a long hug.  
"I still cannot believe that this is actually happening to me."  
"Enjoy it. I always thought Derek, and you would fit perfectly. You're able to ground each other, you're so close. I would go that far to say you are some kind of soulmates. It will work. Show him how it feels to be loved, and I bet, Derek will treat you like you finally deserve it after Kevin and Sam."  
"Oh be sure, he'll get's all of my love, he deserves so much more, than he'd experienced until now."  
JJ agreed, and the two women spent the rest of the day together with Henry and Micheal. They had dinner together, and when Henry and Micheal were tucked in later in the evening, they talked together until it was almost midnight.  
"It's becoming late, I think I'll head home," Penelope said, yawning. She was getting tired and just wanted to drive home to see if Derek hadn't changed his mind. Even if she knew he wouldn't have, there were still doubts fighting inside of her mind.  
"Give Derek a big hug from me. We're going to have dinner together soon!" JJ answered, also yawning.  
"I will do that gumdrop, I'll talk to Derek about it. Oh and tell Will I'm so sorry he wasn't here!"  
She put on her coat and gave JJ one last hug before she left her house.  
Humming to the music on the radio, after she'd started her car and led it to her apartment. She stopped the car right in front of it and climbed out of the car. When she was about to walk to her apartment house, someone stopped her.  
"Penelope."  
Savannah.  
Penelope sighed and turned around.  
"What do you...," she began to say, but when she realized she was facing a gun, she stopped talking.  
"Oh, don't want to say something?" Savannah asked with an evil smile, aiming her gun right at Penelope's face.  
"Derek's really busy talking to Spencer, so we have all the time, what did you want to say?" Savannah asked with an evil grin, and Penelope swallowed hard.  
"What do you want to do now, Savannah?" Penelope asked then after a second. She tried to stay calm, but that wasn't easy. Images of the man who'd shot her all those years ago flashed her mind. Penelope hated weapons.  
"Oh, I want you and my husband to suffer, suffer a lot!" Savannah smiled at her and mentioned her to climb back into the car.  
"Inside your car right now, you're coming with me!"  
Penelope nodded, her hands were trembling a bit, but she sat down in the driver's seat of her car and closed the door.  
Savannah took the passengers seat and aimed the gun right at her temple.  
"You know where Derek and I live. Drive you fat bitch!"  
Penelope nodded, she was shaking but pulled her keys out of her purse and started Esther.  
She drove all the way to Derek and Savannah's house. Through the drive, Savannah didn't speak a word, she kept aiming her gun at Penelope's temple.  
Penelope wasn't brave enough to say something. Savannah wanted her and Derek to suffer, but Penelope would do anything to prevent Derek from harm. She didn't want him to suffer more than he already had.  
Half an hour later, Penelope parked her car in the garage of Savannah and Derek's house, like Savannah had told her.  
"Savannah please, don't do it, whatever you're about to. Tell me what you want, please. I'll do anything."  
"Oh aren't you cute? You would do anything to prevent poor Derek from harm, wouldn't you? But I tell you something, you fat, geeky cow: You can do nothing, to stop me. You both are going to suffer, and I will enjoy every part of it. Out of the car, NOW!"  
Penelope closed her eyes to stop upcoming tears from falling and opened the door to her car to climb out of it.  
"Go. Upstairs!"  
Penelope didn't say a word, she just followed Savannah's words and walked upstairs as soon as they were inside the house.  
"Bedroom!"  
Penelope did, what Savannah told her and walked into the main bedroom. There was a chair in the middle of the room. Handcuffs and foot cuffs were laying on the seat, waiting for someone to use them.  
Penelope tensed and stopped moving forward.  
"Oh no, this isn't for you, that chair is for my lovely husband. He will suffer until he tells me he wants me back. If I believe him. Your place is right there."  
Savannah mentioned to a wall in the opposite of the chair. There were cuffs, prepared on an iron bar, too but no seat.  
"You don't deserve to sit in my house," Savannah hissed and mentioned Penelope to walk over to the wall. Savannah didn't waste time. She applied the cuffs to both of Penelope's hands.  
"Open your mouth, you cow!" Savannah hissed. Penelope was shaking so much until then, but she did, what Savannah told her. Maybe if she played friendly with her, Savannah would change her mind.  
Savannah gagged her and grinned devilishly at her.  
"So, we have a few hours until I will call Derek. I thought it might be fun if he finds out you're kidnapped before I tell him, don't you think?"  
Penelope shook her head and tried to say something, but Savannah only laughed at her.  
"So great, even if I wouldn't have gagged you, I wouldn't listen to you anymore. God, how much I hate you, Penelope Garcia. From the day we met, Derek always used to talk about you. I hated you from the beginning. He even mentioned you on our first date, can you believe it? Before I saw you for the first time and hugged your ugly body, I knew too much about you."  
Savannah pulled a knife out of nowhere and slowly walked over to Penelope.  
She put it on Penelope's cheek and pressed the knife again the skin. Penelope closed her eyes when she felt the blade cutting through her skin.  
Savannah pulled the knife away and pressed it against her tummy.  
"I could kill you right now in the knowledge that Derek is at your home, laughing and having fun with that other nerd! But I won't. The two of you will suffer together until one of you dies. I don't care who it is, but I will have a lot of fun here!"  
Savannah cut Penelope several times on her arms, not too deep, but yet enough to let the wounds bleed for a while. Penelope tried to not make a sound during this. She even tried not to cry but it hurt too much, and she was also afraid of Derek. There was no way she could warn him not to come to his old home at any point.  
Savannah sat down on her bed, she watched Penelope for a long time. At some point, Penelope just closed her eyes. She was tired and exhausted. Eventually, Penelope fell asleep for only seconds, jerking awake when she was about to fall to the ground. Savannah, each time laughed hard, she was enjoying this show way too much.  
Penelope leaned against the wall and sighed tiredly, she wanted to talk to Savannah, but it wasn't possible, so she remained silent.  
At one point, Savannah pulled out her cellphone and dialed a number. Penelope watched her while Savannah waited for Derek to answer the call.  
Penelope heard Derek's voice, and Savannah began to grin devilish.  
"Derek my love. I think you want to talk to me...," Savannah said to him after a second in a sing-song voice. "...because I have someone here with me who's hurt and about to die if you don't do what I want!"  
Penelope couldn't stop a lone tear from streaming down her cheek, she was praying that Derek wouldn't do, what Savannah wanted.  
"You really should listen to me, Honey, because if you don't, she's dead within seconds!"  
Savannah remained silent for a few seconds until she spoke again.  
"That's my husband. Alright, come home honey, we'll wait for you patiently. Oh, and Honey, I think it goes without saying, but I'll do it anyway: don't tell your team where you drive to. It will get a lot worse if you do!"  
Derek answered something which caused Savannah to look at Penelope's direction.  
"Alright, wait a second."  
Savannah rose to her feet and walked over to Penelope, she pulled the gag out of Penelope's mouth and after that held the cell phone to her direction.  
"She's on the speaker, behave!"  
"Penelope?" Derek's concerned voice appeared, and Penelope let out a sob.  
"Derek, I'm okay, but please, don't come over here, I'm going to be fine!"  
Savannah laughed and shook her head while Derek answered.  
"It's alright Baby Girl, hang on, don't forget that I love you!"  
"I love you too!" Penelope answered, crying but Savannah had ended the call before Derek could hear her answer.


	8. Chapter 7

"Derek my love. I think you want to talk to me...," Savannah said to Derek after a second in a sing-song voice, and he froze in place when she ended her sentence. "...because I have someone here with me who's hurt and about to die if you don't do what I want!"  
"Don't you dare do that, Savannah, I find you, and if I do, nothing will stop me!" Derek growled. Spencer laid a hand on his shoulder, but he jerked away from the comfort his best friend tried to give him. He paced through the room, thinking. Where would she hide Penelope?  
"You really should listen to me, Honey, because if you don't, she's dead within seconds!"  
Derek stopped immediately and brought his attention to Savannah. He'd never thought, Savannah would be able to hurt people, but there she was, kidnapping Penelope and threatening to kill her.  
"What do you want?" Derek sighed, he couldn't bear losing Penelope now or in the future. Not when he finally knew she loved him in the same way he did. Derek wanted a future together with Penelope, he would do anything to save her.  
"That's my husband. Alright, come home Honey, we'll wait for you in our bedroom. Oh, and Honey, I think it goes without saying, but I'll do it anyway: don't tell your team where you drive to. It will get a lot worse if you do!"  
Derek sighed and looked over at the people who were watching him in concern. What should he tell them? But first, Derek wanted a proof that Penelope really was with Savannah. He needed to hear her voice.  
"Let me talk to Penelope."  
Savannah remained silent for another moment.  
"Alright, wait for a second," eventually was the answer and Derek relaxed a little bit.  
He listened to Savannah, she didn't say a word, and he tried to make out something that maybe could help him later, but she remained too silent.  
"She's on the speaker, behave!"  
"Penelope?" Derek's asked, very concerned. He heard a loud sob and his heart shattered in pieces. Why did Savannah do that? Penelope really didn't deserve anything she was going through right now.  
When he finally heard her voice, Derek sighed in relief.  
"Derek, I'm okay, but please, don't come over here, I'm going to be fine!"  
Derek heard Savannah laughing, but he didn't focus on her, he focused on the most important woman in his life.  
"It's alright Baby Girl, hang on, don't forget that I love you!"  
"I lov..." Suddenly, the call ended, and Derek looked at his phone in confusion.  
"Fuck!" He growled then and was about to grab the keys to his SUV. Derek more than anything wanted to save Penelope's life.  
"Derek!" Emily brought his attention to her.  
"What?!" He growled and looked at her in a fury, all he wanted was to save Penelope. Apparently, he couldn't think clearly right now, he was too worried about Penelope.  
"You don't go out there alone. We're here to help you!"  
"No, Emily, this is about Savannah and me. There's nothing you could do!" He walked over to the door, but Tara and Alvez stopped him, they closed the door and looked at him in concern.  
Derek sighed and turned around to watch his friends, which had become part of his family over the years.  
"I cannot tell you. Emily, I need a few hours before I can tell you something more. You have to let me go. Savannah will kill her if you come with me!"  
Derek began to pace around the room again, he needed to leave as soon as possible.  
"If you don't tell us, how can we find you. I understand you want to save Penelope, but what if you can't do it on your own?" Reid asked him, and he looked at his best friend and little brother. He was right.  
"I don't know, pretty boy," Derek answered honestly, trying to calm himself down. "But what I know is, if I waste more time here, Savannah knows that I have talked to you guys. Penelope is my God-given solace, I feel like I'm home with her, you know? I can't risk her life." He stared at Reid, and the younger man nodded slowly in understanding. Derek knew he understood what Derek meant to tell him.  
So, Derek grabbed his keys and headed out of the apartment. No one stopped him this time. He ran to his SUV got into the driver's seat and started his car. Derek then drove as fast as possible to his and Savannah's old house. He hadn't lived there for two months and never wanted to walk into it again. But Savannah was trying to harm Penelope, and there was no way, Derek would allow that.  
He stopped his car right in front of the building, in the knowledge they would find him and Penelope right in time. Derek then headed to the front door. He'd left all his keys at Savannah's, so he rang the doorbell.  
The door opened minutes later, which felt like hours. A smiling Savannah opened the door and stood in front of him.  
"Hey, Honey," she said to him, trying to pull him into a loving embrace.  
"Go, fuck yourself Savannah," was his only answer. he pushed her away and walked into the house.  
"Where is Penelope?"  
Savannah closed the door and locked it, still smiling her evil smile.  
"You really should calm down, Derek. Because if you don't, you won't get to see her. We're doing this at my conditions," smiling, Savannah aimed a gun at him. Derek swallowed hard but nodded.  
"Alright, everything at your conditions." Derek knew he had to play Savannah's game until the team would follow him and save Penelope and him.  
"Good boy! We go upstairs, I'll follow you."  
Derek nodded and began to climb the stairs. Savannah right behind him put her gun into his back. Derek didn't know if she would really shoot him, but he didn't want to find out.  
"Where's Hank?"  
"He's at a birthday party, overnight, you don't have to worry about your son, you didn't do that the last two month's."  
"You know why I left, Savannah," Derek growled at his wife. When they were divorced, he would do anything to get his son back, even if they weren't related by blood.  
"Our bedroom is prepared for you," Savannah told him, ignoring his last words when they reached the upper hallway.  
Derek walked over to his old bedroom. He tried to fight his feelings, but it didn't work as good as he was hoping.  
Derek opened the door, and the first thing he saw was the chair in the middle of the room, and he froze in place.  
"Derek!"  
He spun around just to see Penelope chained to a pole with both hands to her back. Derek rushed to her and cupped her cheeks with his hands.  
"Baby Girl, are you alright?"  
Penelope showed him a tearful smile but nodded.  
"I am. Are you? I'm so worried, why did you even come, I told you not so," she answered, looking directly into his eyes.  
"You really ask that?" Derek asked her with a soft smile. He caressed her cheekbone and was about to kiss her softly when Savannah behind him cleared her throat.  
"I wouldn't do that, Honey. You're mine, and you're not going to kiss that cow in front of me!"  
Derek stopped immediately and turned his head in Savannah's direction.  
"You stop calling her like that right now!"  
"You're not the one who's able to handle out conditions. Sit!"  
Savannah mentioned to the chair and smiled devilishly at him. Derek closed his eyes for a second when he felt Penelope turning her head in his hands. She kissed his palm softly and gave him so much strength with that little gesture. He opened his eyes again to look at the woman he loved more than anything. With one last smile, he let go of her and walked over to the chair where he sat down like Savannah had told him. Savannah chained his hands, his feet and rose to her feet to smile at him.  
"It's pretty nice to see you like that. Now...I was thinking about to show Penelope how you spent most of our evenings together if you were at home when our beautiful son was asleep," she said to Derek. He looked at the woman he'd thought he'd loved and shrugged. Derek didn't care anymore. Penelope had seen him at his worst, she could bear seeing him drunk again.  
"Do what you have to, woman," he also answered and decided to lock eyes with Penelope. To prevent her from harm was everything he could think about. Penelope smiled weakly at him, and he tried a smile too, knowing that the BAU team would come and save them sooner or later.  
"Oh no, that's not everything I want to show her, you know, cow, he used to shoot from time to time with his old gun, remembering the good old days, isn't that sweet? He will show you how he shot. Unfortunately, we have to use your body as the field of fire...I'm sure he'll hit you...for there's enough fat on you," Savannah grinned and left the room.  
Derek's eyes widened at the things, Savannah told them. He couldn't shoot Penelope, he wouldn't. His mind was racing. Hopefully, the team would save them in time, but if they would, he had to make a plan.  
"Hey."  
Derek jumped out of his thoughts. He was still looking at the only woman he could tell he'd ever loved. Penelope sadly smiled at him.  
"It's alright, whatever she wants you to do," she silently told him, but Derek shook his head.  
"There's no way in hell I will shoot you!" He growled stubbornly. Never would he shoot her on purpose.  
"I'd rather shoot myself!"  
"Derek..."  
"No...Penelope, you'll see. Everything's going to be fine, but I won't shoot you. Never. She can make with me what she wants, but I won't shoot you, that's a promise."  
Penelope didn't respond. She just looked at him, her eyes full of worry, but finally, she nodded.  
"If you say, everything's going to be fine, I believe you Hot Stuff," Penelope finally answered which caused him to smile at her.  
"It will be fine," he told her again, and Penelope nodded, just when Savannah came back into the room.

* * *

"Time to have a few drinks, Honey!"  
Reid's mind was racing as Derek left the apartment. He knew exactly where his best friend would be, so the BAU team sat around Penelope's kitchen table and made a plan.  
"She made him go to their old home, that's for sure. We don't know where in the house they will be, so we need to catch Savannah in surprise," he said, and Emily nodded in agreement.  
"We don't know what she's about to do with Derek and Penelope, but if she was able to kidnap Penelope, I'm sure she has at least a weapon. Penelope wouldn't go with her without reason."  
JJ sighed and leaned back in her chair.  
"We have to be as silent as possible. We park our cars a few blocks away and walk towards their house."  
"Alright then...Derek's ahead of us about two hours, I think that'll be enough," Rossi jumped in, and everyone nodded in agreement. Whatever time Derek would've needed would be enough by now. They all rose to their feet and headed to their car's. They used two car's, and after 30 minutes of driving, they parked their vehicles two blocks away from Derek and Savannah's house.

They all wore their bulletproof vests and had their guns ready, just in case.  
It took them another ten minutes to reach the house. They all circled the house but found nothing unusual on the first floor. Connected by radio, JJ whispered.  
"They have to be upstairs. We need to go in."  
Emily, their team leader, agreed just when they heard gunfire and a scream. The voice, indeed, belonged to Penelope.  
"Everyone inside now, silently and slowly, if we panic now we risk Penelope's and Derek's life's!" It was Rossi who said that. Especially for JJ and Reid, it wasn't that easy, but they knew Rossi was right. They made two teams. Team one included Reid, Tara and Alvez went inside through the front door. Group two included Rossi, JJ and Emily used the back entrance. The whole team aimed their guns.  
As soon as the team was inside the house, they checked every room to make sure there would no one attack them from behind.  
"Everyone's ready?" Emily whispered when the team stood in front of the stairs.  
The team agreed, and Emily climbed up the stairs, followed by Reid, JJ, Rossi, Tara, and Alvez to give her cover.  
They heard muffled voices from a room at the end of the upper hallway. Emily mentioned to the team to first have a look in all the other rooms. As soon as they were clear, they heard another gunshot.  
"Noo!" Penelope's voice sounded full of panic and horror, so Emily and the rest of the BAU team circled the door. Emily put her hand on the doorknob and nodded. The rest of the team aimed their guns at the door.  
When Emily opened the door, everyone yelled: "FBI!"  
They made their way inside the room. First, Savannah went to the ground, knocked out by Alvez within a second. The other ones froze in place. In the middle of the room sat Derek, chained to his feet. One hand was chained too.  
His head hung to his chest. He was holding a gun with his free hand but was bleeding. Penelope was kneeling in front of him, pressing her hands on two bullet wounds.  
"Derek, please!"  
Reid rushed over to Penelope, to help her, Penelope was sobbing and trembling all over her body, so JJ made her way to her best friend, to give her some comfort. Emily was the one who called an ambulance.  
"Derek, look at me, Handsome!"  
The whole team was looking at Penelope who softly caressed Derek's cheek while she was crying.  
Reid took care of the bullet wounds while JJ tried to pull Penelope away from Derek.  
"No, no I can't leave him now, JJ please!" Penelope sobbed when JJ pulled her into an embrace. "He'll need me!"  
"You will be with him, but let Spence and the doctor's take care of him, we'll follow the ambulance together, alright?"  
Weeping, Penelope nodded. She was still looking at Derek but was welcoming JJ's comfort. Reid awhile took care of Derek, he released his best friend from his chains and laid him on the ground. Derek's wounds were still bleeding, but the ambulance arrived shortly after Emily's call. In a few minutes, they'd taken care of Derek and headed to the ambulance, followed by the Penelope and the rest of the BAU team.


	9. Chapter 8

Penelope sat in JJ's car on the back seat. Her best friend had wrapped her arms around her holding her close to her. Penelope was still trembling all over her body, while she was looking at her blood covered hands. Derek's blood she really, really never wanted to see in her whole life.  
Rossi and Reid were in the car too, heading to the hospital, Derek would be brought to.  
Tara, Alvez, and Emily had remained at Derek and Savannah's house to make sure, Savannah would get arrested. After that, they would come to the hospital too.  
Penelope couldn't stop weeping right now. She was too afraid of Derek, he'd lost so much blood. He'd gone through too much, she desperately wanted to be with him and make sure he would be alright.  
"Hey Garcie, can you tell me what happened in there?" JJ suddenly asked her, caressing Penelope's upper arm while she held her.  
Penelope sobbed but nodded after a moment. She tried to calm herself down and took a few deep breaths.  
"I'll try," she answered in a tearful voice, wiping away her tears with a handkerchief, Rossi had given her earlier. It felt like she was going through it again as she began to tell her team what had happened to Derek.

Flashback:  
 _"Time to have a few drinks, Honey!"_  
 _Savannah came back into the room, she'd brought a huge bottle of Derek's favorite's whiskey and a big glass with her. Penelope watched the woman opening the bottle and pouring a big glass full, just for Derek. Savannah uncuffed one of Derek's hands and put the glass into it._  
 _"Drink, Honey. It may be the last time you'll get some of your favorite stuff."_  
 _Derek had done it without hesitation. He was looking at Penelope while he did so. She could see he didn't want to, but Penelope knew right now he would do anything to protect her. Penelope looked back at him the whole time. Savannah poured him a few more glasses in the next hour until Derek barely could hold and drink them on his own. Tears streamed down Penelope's cheeks seeing him like this. She so hardly wanted to stop all this, wanted to be at Derek's side to give him some much-needed comfort. He looked so lost, cuffed to the chair, threatened by his own wife. How could Savannah do this to a man she appeared to love?_  
 _Penelope couldn't imagine what that would do to him. Savannah silenced her every time she tried to talk to Derek, so Penelope remained silent, staring at Derek, while he tried his best to look back at her, with bloodshot eyes. She decided to give him comfort in this way, and it seemed to help him a little bit._  
 _Soon, Savannah put the gun into Derek's hand._  
 _"And now, we're going to show the cow what you did when you missed your team oh so much, alright Honey?"_  
 _Derek remained silent, still looking at Penelope. She didn't know how much he understood, so she smiled at him softly. Penelope needed him to know that she wouldn't be angry with him, she knew he had no chance._  
 _"Shoot her!" Savannah suddenly screamed, which caused a very drunk Derek to look at her._  
 _"Nah...," he slurred and aimed the gun at his right leg. He pulled the trigger very fast so Savannah couldn't stop him. Penelope screamed as the bullet hit his skin. Derek remained straight-faced, yet his cheeks became a bit paler than before._  
 _Savannah slapped him across the face after he did that._  
 _"Shoot. The. Cow! You coward!"_  
 _Penelope risked a look at Savannah who appeared very angry with Derek's actions. Indeed, Penelope wanted to jump at the woman in front of her, for harming Derek in such a horrible way._  
 _Derek, again, shook his head and aimed the gun at his left leg. Within a glimpse, he'd shot himself again._  
 _"Derek, stop it! Please don't hurt yourself!" Penelope begged him in a tearful voice. He shouldn't do that. He couldn't leave her, that wasn't an option._  
 _"Don't do that, please!"_

"I've better shut my mouth then," Penelope cried, gripping JJ's hand so hard, her knuckles became white.  
"Savannah realized how much it hurt me to see Derek shooting himself, so she made him do that three more times. It's not like he had a chance to fight against that bitch!"  
Weeping hard, Penelope couldn't talk for a while until JJ was able to calm her down a bit.  
"You know why he did that, Garcie. He did that to protect you. You'll see it's going to be alright."  
Rossi agreed. "Stay strong Kitten. I know it's hard to talk about these things, but Derek will be okay, and he'll need you when he's recovering."  
"He will recover, Garcia, you know I examined the bullet wounds. Derek didn't hit important blood vessels. Even if he was drunk, he knew exactly what he was doing." Reid told them, and Garcia looked at him through the review mirror.  
"Are you sure about that?" Penelope asked in a tearful voice, wiping away the tears from both of her cheeks.  
"I am, I can tell you he'll do just fine if the bullet which remained inside his body hadn't hurt anything I couldn't see. His body will recover very fast, you'll see."  
Penelope let out a shaky sigh and nodded slowly.  
"Thank you, Boy Wonder, thank you for just knowing everything, at the right time," Penelope answered him, and JJ chuckled a bit.  
"I hear ya, Garcie, that's so true," she said, and Penelope was able to smile a little bit. She still worried too much about her Hot Stuff, but Reid had calmed her a bit. Physically, Derek would heal, with every other thing Penelope would stick to his side and help him through everything until the love of her life would feel better again.  
She took another deep breath before she started talking again.  
"Alright, where did I stop? Ah..."

Flashback 2:  
 _After Derek had shot himself for the fifth time, Savannah pulled out a second weapon and walked over to Penelope to uncuff her._  
 _"You're going to take care of his wounds. He isn't allowed to die yet. The both of you will suffer a few more days!" Savannah hissed, but Penelope ignored her. She rushed over to her Noir Hero and cupped his cheeks with her hands._  
 _"Baby Girl," Derek slurred when Penelope rested her forehead against his._  
 _"I'm here, it's fine, Hot Stuff," she whispered and kneeled down in front of him after she caressed his cheeks a few times. Derek barely nodded, he was getting paler with every passing moment, so Penelope decided to take care of his wounds just like Savannah had told her. The other woman was standing right behind her, aiming her gun at Penelope's head._  
 _"Work now!" Savannah hissed, while she was watching Penelope. "God, you're as slow as you are fat!"_  
 _Penelope didn't listen to Savannah, it wasn't important, what she said, the man in front of her was, who was essential to her more than anything._  
 _The wounds in Derek's legs didn't bleed that much, it was the one on his torso which worried her most. Penelope felt around him with shaking hand and checked his back. There was no exit wound, so Penelope was sure the bullet would still stick somewhere in his body._  
 _She took off her scarf for a makeshift bandage around his torso._  
 _"Does that hurt, Handsome?" She whispered, looking at the man she loved more than anything. His bloodshot eyes were barely open, but very slowly, he shook his head. Penelope worried so much about him. Her heart was racing in her chest when she reached the other two wounds his left arm. They were bleeding most, and Penelope hadn't anything to stop the bleeding. So she just pressed her trembling hands on them in the effort to stop the bleeding. Looking at Derek again, she realized he lost his conscience._  
 _"Derek, please!" She cried out, hoping he would hear her when his head sunk on his chest._

"That was the time when you came into the room," she ended, still shakily but a bit more relieved. It was good that she spilled out what had happened to Derek and her.  
JJ squeezed her tightly, giving her some much-needed comfort.  
"You did really good, Penelope, I'm proud of you," Reid told her when they drove into the parking lot in front of the hospital.  
"Thank you, Spencer," was all she could answer because as soon as the car stopped, she headed out of the vehicle and into the hospital followed by JJ, Rossi, and Reid. Penelope quickly made her way inside. She desperately needed to find out where Derek was and in which state he was.  
Soon, a doctor was sent to her. He brought some papers with him, Penelope needed to sign for she was Derek's emergency contact.  
The doctor told them, Derek would be in surgery for the next couple of hours, it would be a risk because he was very drunk and it would be a high risk to set him under anesthesia. But Derek needed the operation. A bullet was still in his body, and as far as the doctor could see, it had broken two ribs at least but not hurt Derek's lungs. The doctor would come back to tell them how he was doing.  
Penelope thanked the doctor and, shakily sat down on the next chair, after she'd cleaned herself up a Little bit.  
"I have to call his mom," Penelope suddenly whispered. JJ handed her her cellphone. Penelope rose to her feet again and tried to call Derek's mom then. Slowly pacing through the room, she waited for Fran Morgan to accept the call.  
"Morgan?"  
"Uhm, hello? Is this Fran?" Penelope asked. She wasn't ready to tell Derek's mom the bad news.  
"Yes, Penelope, is that you?"  
"Yes, it's me...Fran..."  
"What happened to Derek? Is he hurt?"  
Fran interrupted her and Penelope sighed deeply. She needed to tell it to Derek's mom, even if she felt guilty for being the reason why Derek shot himself. Fresh tears began to stream down her cheeks as she started talking.  
"I'm sorry...yes, yes he is hurt. He..he shot himself five times. Savannah made him do that, she made him drunk also and I...I," she tried to tell her more, but Penelope really couldn't stop a loud sob which escaped her mouth.  
"Okay, Penelope, I can understand you're shocked, I'm too, but tell me a few more things while I book a flight, alright?" Fran remained calm, which helped Penelope a lot. She took a few deep breaths and nodded.  
"Alright, alright, I'm so sorry, it's just...he's gone through so much, Fran...," she whispered sadly, hoping, everything that had happened wouldn't affect Derek too much.  
"I know sweetheart, I know." Fran sighed at the other end. Penelope again, wiped her tears away before she started talking again.  
"He's in surgery right now. Spencer told me he's only in danger if the bullet in his body has hurt something important. The other wounds on his legs and left arm didn't hurt major blood vessels. The doctor told me to come back as soon as Derek's out of the surgery, but it's a high risk to put him into anesthesia with all that alcohol in his blood."  
"Alright, thank you, Penelope. That helps me a lot to stay calm. He will make it, even if it's a risk to do that now. I have a flight booked and have to hurry, please keep me updated alright? I'm going to send you the number of my cell phone."  
"Alright, I'll do that," Penelope whispered and hung up. She checked if she received the number of Fran's cell phone and handed JJ's cell back to her.  
Penelope couldn't sit still the next couple of hours. Every time a nurse came, she rose to her feet, every time a doctor came out of the surgery, her heart began to race in her chest.  
She was a mess, worrying for Derek and praying that he would be okay.  
"You have to eat and drink something Garcie," JJ whispered beside her, holding a cup of coffee for her best friend and a sandwich. "You cannot help him if you're not strong enough."  
Penelope sighed and nodded slowly. She took a few bites of the sandwich and drank the coffee. It soothed her a bit, but when the doctor, who'd spoken to her earlier walked towards them, Penelope felt nervous like before.  
She rose to her feet and greeted the doc with a nervous smile.  
"How is he?" She asked, nervously, looking at the doctor.  
"He did just fine. We were able to get the bullet out of him without any complications. He isn't awake by now, it can take a bit longer than usual, but that's totally normal. He's breathing on his own that's a good sign." The doctor smiled at her when tears began to stream down her face once more.  
"Can I see him then, please?" She managed to ask the doctor who nodded.  
"I'm afraid it'll be only you for now, but yes, sure."  
Penelope smiled in relief and hugged JJ, Reid, and Rossi. "Please send a text to Fran, I promised her to tell her how Derek's doing," she begged JJ who nodded before Penelope followed the doctor to Derek's room.  
"Take your time, if you want to, you can stay here overnight."  
"I want to stay with him," she quickly answered, there was no way anyone would part them again for the next while.  
"Alright, we'll get everything ready for you then. I'll come and check on Derek in the next few hours. If he wakes up, call for a nurse please."  
"Thank you, doc, I will do that," Penelope answered him before she made her way into Derek's room.  
Quickly she headed to his right side, the only part of his body was he wasn't hurt and softly took his hand in hers.  
"Hey Handsome," she whispered and kissed his forehead slowly. "I'm here now, you're going to be okay very soon, but I won't leave your side for a long while," she whispered.  
"I'm going to stay here until you throw me out of the room, and you know I'm hardheaded, so you're going to stick with me for a long, long while, Hot Stuff."  
Penelope squeezed his hand and watched his exhausted face for a long while.  
"Your mom will be here soon, too. We won't ever leave you on your own Baby, you're not alone."  
Penelope held his hand, sitting at Derek's side until he would wake up again.


	10. Chapter 9

The first things Derek felt when he slowly woke up was nausea, a severe headache, and dizziness.  
He growled silently and tried to open his eyes which didn't help but made it worse, so he let them squeeze shut.  
"Derek?" A voice silently called his name, and he growled again, barely able to speak.  
He felt like he was about to vomit if he would open his mouth now.  
"I'm calling for a nurse Hot Stuff, hold on," the voice whispered. It was Penelope's voice, Derek realized suddenly. He then realized, she was holding his hand, and he squeezed her's a bit, hoping she wouldn't go away now and leave him.  
Derek didn't really understand what was going on.  
"All done Handsome," she told him, and soon he felt her other hand on his forehead, slowly caressing his head. It felt quite relaxing, so he was able to sooth down a little bit, but he squeezed her hand again.  
Derek just wanted to know what was going on.  
It seemed like Penelope sensed what he wanted to know because she began to explain only seconds later.  
"You're in the hospital Handsome, you're hurt so you have to lay as still as possible, alright? You're going to be okay, but right now, all you have to do is rest."  
Derek tried to nod in understanding but groaned in pain and dizziness as soon as he did.  
"A nurse will be here soon, do you have a headache? Just squeeze my hand if you do, alright?"  
Listening to her voice calmed him down, and he did what she asked him for, he squeezed her hand.  
"Alright, something more?"  
He squeezed her hand again.  
"Thank you Angel Face, okay I'll guess now, just squeeze my hand again if I hit the right point. Do you feel nauseated?" He squeezed her hand again. After a moment he felt her lips on his forehead. Just her presence made him feel better at once.  
"Something more?" And again he did what she asked him for. She guessed a few times until she found out he felt dizzy too.  
"I'm so sorry Derek," her voice was full of sadness, he could hear it even if he really didn't feel great or could look at her face.  
"You must feel like shit," Penelope whispered. He could feel she was fighting against her emotions and was utterly failing.  
"Hey," he managed to croak out after he swallowed many times to fight his nausea.  
"Don't...cry...," he whispered then. The urge to comfort Penelope was too much to think about how he felt.  
"Oh God, I'm so sorry. You're the one who's sick, and I'm crying here like a baby," she squeezed his hand, and soon he could feel her lips on his forehead again.  
"I'm pulling myself together right now, I'm so sorry," she whispered again.  
"Don't," he managed to answer when a nurse walked into the room. Penelope took over the conversation and told the nurse that he'd woken up and what was wrong with him.  
The nurse came to him and checked his vitals. After a moment she told them a doctor would come soon and she would be back with some medication in a minute.  
It really didn't take the nurse long until she was back. She put some medication into the IV, that's what she told Derek, and a few momentss later he felt less nauseous, and his headache was getting less intense too just like the dizziness.  
That was when he tried to open his eyes for a second time.  
This time it worked.  
His view was blurry at first, but when it became clear again, he could see the beautiful face of his Baby Girl right in front of him. She smiled at him softly and caressed his cheek.  
"Hey, Handsome," she whispered when he leaned into her touch.  
"Hey," he croaked back, just looking at her. Derek was grateful that Penelope was here with him, it made things much more comfortable for him.  
"Do you feel better now?"  
"Yeah, it's getting better," he murmured. Derek still felt like a mess, but without a headache and nausea, it was much better to handle for him.  
Penelope sighed in relief. She had red-rimmed and swollen eyes as he took a better look at the woman he loved so much. To be honest, she looked exhausted as hell.  
He tried to lift his left hand but failed immediately, it hurt too much, so he just squeezed her hand again.  
"You don't look good either," he said in a hoarse voice.  
"I'm good, really. Just tired and worried about that handsome man in front of me," she replied honestly.  
"Then go, get some rest, Baby Girl. I'm good here." He didn't want her to go, but if one thing were clear, then Penelope would need her rest. He wouldn't ask her to stay even if he wanted her to.  
"Oh no, no, no. I don't leave you now, Handsome," Penelope answered, almost panicking.  
"I won't run away, Penelope," he tried to joke, but when he saw the tears streaming down Penelope's face, he let go of her hand and lifted his own slowly to cup her cheek.  
"What's wrong, Baby Girl?" He asked her full of concern. "I hate to see you cry..."  
Penelope cupped his hand on her cheek with her own and took a few deep breaths.  
"I was just so worried about you, Handsome. I cannot go. Not now that you're awake, I just can't."  
"I don't want you to go either, Baby Girl. But you need to rest," he began but then nodded towards her.  
"Join me, I would love to feel you in my arms again."  
"No, there's not enough space for me," Penelope replied, almost ashamed. Derek knew exactly what she meant, she felt too fat, thanks to Savannah's words, but Penelope wasn't, to be honest, she was just perfect, and Derek would show her if she would let him someday.  
"It is. Come here, lay down," Derek said slowly. He began to feel tired too. Must have been the medication.  
Penelope still hesitated, but after a moment she laid down beside him. Derek wrapped his healthful arm around Penelope while she snuggled herself against him without hurting him. After that, she covered the both of them with his blanket.  
"That's much better," he whispered and slowly turned his head to kiss Penelope's forehead.  
"It is," she sighed and wrapped her arm around his waist. "That alright?" She asked after she'd placed her head on his healthful shoulder.  
"More than alright," he whispered back, feeling so much better right now. He leaned his head against hers. Having her close made him feel at ease. Feeling relaxed, he closed his eyes again.  
"I'm so glad you're awake, Handsome," he heard her whispering before he fell asleep again.

* * *

He woke up to the feeling of someone caressing his cheek lovingly. Derek opened his eyes to be greeted by the worried face of his mother.  
"Mama," he managed to say after a moment. God, was he glad to see her! "When did you come?" He asked her in a silent voice. Fran smiled at him and stopped caressing his cheek.  
"Ten minutes ago, Baby Boy. How are you? Oh and let's be a bit silent, Penelope is still asleep, I beg she needs her rest."  
Derek looked over to Penelope, who was still snuggled to his side, fast asleep. He nodded slowly and was glad that Penelope was still sleeping. She needed to rest. The actions of the past days must have been shocking for her and Derek felt terrible about it. He didn't want her to see him like this or doing things like this.  
"Hey Baby," his attention came back to his mother, she took his left hand in hers and smiled at him.  
"How are you?" She asked him again while she sat down in her chair beside his bed.  
"I'm feeling better now," he answered honestly. When he first woke up he'd felt like shit, but that awful headache had gone, he just felt a bit dizzy and nauseous, but it was to handle.  
"I'm glad to hear that, but Baby Boy, what the heck did happen? I mean, we talked every Sunday, but now I have a feeling we didn't really talk the last few months."  
Derek sighed and squeezed his mom's hand. He felt ashamed for not talking to his mom.  
"I found out that Savannah has been cheating on me since the beginning of our relationship, mama. I was ashamed," time, to be honest, he told himself, but he couldn't look into his mother's eyes as he did so.  
"I also found out that Hank's not my child."  
"Oh no, I'm so sorry Derek, that's horrible. And you went through it all on your own?"  
He nodded slowly. "A few days ago I found myself in Penelope's apartment after I've drunk too much. Since then I'm with her," Derek answered honestly, and a slight smile cracked his lips as he said so. Penelope had helped him so much these past few days, she made him feel so much better.  
He should've listened to his feelings.  
He should've left Savannah and tell Penelope how he felt.  
"She's a lovely woman, Baby Boy. You can be glad to have her in your life."  
"I am, mama, I am." He looked at her again and smiled. Penelope was the most important woman in his life beside his mama and sisters. Derek just hoped she wanted to stay with him after everything that had happened. He couldn't remember a lot, but he could still hear her screaming everytime he shot himself. Derek had done it to protect her. Never he would have shot her, never.  
"What's bothering you, Derek?"  
Derek sighed and looked at her again.  
"You know I told her just yesterday that I love her and now I don't know if she can still love me the same way."  
"Why shouldn't she?"  
"I'm a mess right now, mama. Just a burden, how can someone love a person like me?"  
"Oh, you have to stop now and listen to your mama, alright?"  
Derek looked at her with suddenly red-rimmed eyes and nodded slowly.  
"As far as I can see it, Penelope is in love with you for a long while, just like you are with her."  
Derek bent a brow in surprise and was greeted by his mom grinning and winkling.  
"I'm your mom, I know everything, even if you don't tell me what's going on! Where did I stop? You love each other for a long while, that woman beside you knows everything about you, I would go so far to say that you are each other's soulmate. If that remarkable woman there in your arms didn't want to stay with you, she wouldn't stick to you like this, don't you think?" His mom asked him, and he looked at Penelope. She was so beautiful, and he hoped his mother was right.  
"I think she wouldn't be here if she didn't want to."  
"Aha, there you have it, just don't forget it alright? You two need to talk, but I never thought she'll see you like the burden you feel you are."  
Derek nodded slowly, still looking at Penelope when the doctor came into the room after a knock on the door. Penelope stirred in his arms when the doctor greeted them. Derek soothed her as he began to stroke circles around her upper arm.  
"I see you're getting comfortable, Mr. Morgan," the doc said. Derek smiled a bit and looked at him.  
"Yeah, sure, but when I can I get out of here?" His mom beside him chuckled and shook her head.  
"We have to check a few things before I can tell you, Mr. Morgan. That means we need some of your blood and I'll do a little examination as soon as your girlfriend is awake. At least you have to stay one more night if everything is fine. But you're not allowed to stay alone." Derek smiled at the mention of Penelope being his girlfriend, it was something he truly wanted for them, an honest relationship.  
"We make sure he won't be alone, doc," Fran answered which caused the doctor to smile.  
"That's good, he'll have to rest for a while at least until his ribs are healed. You're not allowed to lift heavy weights...,,"  
"Sorry to interrupt you, doc, but I know all these things. I've had broken ribs many times so yeah, I will rest until my ribs are healed, I promise."  
Derek had been injured many times. Never he'd been patient enough to let his body heal, but this time he would do like the doc told him. That meant a lot of time to handle things out, to decide what to do with his life. Time with Hank, when he had him back with him.  
"Alright, alright. Mr. Morgan. So I'll send a nurse later that day to pick you up for your tests and then we'll talk in the morning."  
"Alright, thank you, doc."  
With that, the doc left the room again. Derek looked back at his mother when Penelope began to stir in his arms once again. This time she woke up, he could feel her stretching her body against him. With a yawn, Penelope opened her eyes. Derek watched her with a soft smile when she put on her glasses.  
"Morning," she murmured. Derek and his mom replied to her words and Penelope looked up in surprise.  
"My god, how long did I sleep?" She asked and grinned sheepishly.  
"As long as you needed it, darling," Fran replied and walked over to Penelope to hug her tightly. "It's good to see you, Penelope."  
Sitting up and responding to the hug, Penelope smiled. "It's good to see you too," she answered, and Derek watched them silently.  
"Was your flight okay?" Penelope asked then. Fran nodded and sat back down on the chair beside Derek again.  
"It was better as soon as I knew that my lovely son here was out of danger, but yes, the flight was quite alright."  
"That's good to know, I'm glad you're here," Penelope said, smiling at Derek's mom but then looked at Derek who was still watching Penelope.  
"And how are you doing, Handsome? Any pain, nausea or dizziness?" She asked, still smiling but yet full of concern.  
"I'm better, just a bit dizzy and nauseous and man, I'm hungry," he replied and grinned a little bit. Penelope chuckled and gave him a short peck on his cheek.  
"Alright, I'm going to pick us some food," Penelope said, but Fran refused and rose to her feet.  
"No, no, you two stay right here, I'm going to get us all some light food," Fran said.  
She kissed her son on the forehead and left the room right after that.


	11. Chapter 10

Penelope looked back at Derek as soon as his mother had left the room again.  
"Do you really feel better?" She asked him, Penelope still was concerned about the man in front of her. He'd gone through so much. She just wanted to hold him in her arms and rock him back and forth until he genuinely would feel better.  
"I do," Derek answered, honestly. He still was very pale and had an exhausted expression, but Derek smiled the sweetest smile at her and invited her back into his arms. "You're here with me, that makes everything better, Baby Girl. Thank you for sticking around with me," he told her as she laid down beside him again. Penelope wrapped her arms around his waist.  
"Thank you Handsome, but I would never want to be anywhere else."  
She felt Derek's lips on her forehead when he wrapped his healthful arm around her, to hold her in place.  
"You know that you don't have to...," he began, but Penelope silenced him.  
"I know, but I want to. Unless you want me to go, Derek Morgan. I'm not going anywhere until you ask me to."  
Derek squeezed her. It took him a moment to speak again, but when he started, she almost could hear how close he was about to cry.  
"I don't want you to leave me. You're my rock, and I mean that like I said it. My God-given solace. And if you still want me, I would love if you stay with me."  
Penelope for herself felt tears burning in her eyes as she listened to Derek.  
"Why shouldn't I want to stay, Handsome? You've done nothing wrong. Nothing has changed the way I feel for you in the past day. Oh yes, something changed: I love you even more for the things you did for me," she answered him, honestly. "You're my Noir Hero. Will ever be," she said and looked at him. Derek didn't risk a look at her, Penelope could see he was overwhelmed with emotions right now. So, for the moment she didn't make him look at her, he was still struggling.  
"I'm a mess, a burden, Penelope and you out of all know it best. Then there is Hank, I'm going to be a single father."  
"Come on Derek. How often do I have to tell you that you're not a mess? You went through a lot since you've been a child. You're so much more, Handsome. You're so kind and loving, you'll never be a burden to me. And my beautiful godson won't be either. Yesterday, you told me, you love me, and I love you too, that's what counts, alright?"  
Derek still didn't look at her, he was staring at the ceiling, fighting with his emotions.  
"Derek, we will sort things out, let you recover. I will be with you every step of the way."  
Now it was time to force him to look at her. How could Derek believe her if he couldn't see the truth in her eyes? Now, when he finally told her he loved her, Penelope wouldn't give up on the man she loved for so long.  
She cupped his cheek and forced him gently to look at her, which he did, with red-rimmed eyes, when he finally turned his head.  
"I love you, and I won't leave you," she whispered gently. Penelope then placed a tender kiss on his lips. He responded quickly and pressed her against him. Penelope threw her arms around Derek's neck and held him close.  
"I'm sorry," he eventually murmured against her lips as they parted.  
"Don't be sorry, Handsome, you've had a rough time, but don't push me away, alright?"  
He nodded slowly and brought his forehead to hers.  
"I'm trying, Baby Girl," he whispered back, and she showed him a soft smile.  
"That's something we both can work with, Sugar Shack. You'll be all new when you've finished the Penelope Garcia cure of pure love!"  
Finally, she made him chuckle, which made her smile even brighter than before.  
"Alright, I can't wait to get to know this cure," he answered with an honest smile in his voice.  
"That's good because it starts as soon as you're out of here."  
"Sounds pretty nice, Baby Girl."  
They pulled apart so Penelope could take a closer look at the man in front of her. She smiled at him and cupped both of his cheeks with her hands when she earned a slight smile from him.  
"Hey, let's rest until your mom is back, alright? You're still way too pale for my taste my Chocolate Thunder."  
Derek nodded in response and leaned back against the pillows, dragging Penelope with him. Penelope snuggled up to him again, just like they had lain before. Derek had a lot of work to do that was for sure, but she felt like he believed in her words, and that was something they could start with. If he trusted in her words, she would be able to help him find his way back to life.  
It didn't take long until Fran was back with their food. Derek had fallen asleep once more but stirred awake when the door opened.  
"Food's ready, lovebirds!" Fran told them and placed three cups of coffee, some jello, and sandwiches for all of them. Seemed like she'd asked the nurses what Derek was allowed to eat.  
"Thanks, mom!" Derek said. Penelope could hear his stomach growl at the thought of food and grinned a bit.  
"Thank you from me too!" She said then and sat up, to give Derek some room to eat with his healthful arm. She got out of bed and sat down on a chair right beside Derek after she shoved a table in front of him. His mom sat down on the other side and put a coffee, sandwich, and jello right in front of her son. She handed the same things minus the jello to Penelope too and together, they ate in silence.  
Penelope enjoyed the food so much, for she hadn't eaten anything since she'd been at JJ's and that was too long ago for her taste.  
"Tasting good?" Derek asked her with a smirk and Penelope nodded eagerly.  
"I've been starving! So that sandwich tastes like heaven to me!" She answered truthfully.  
Derek chuckled and shook his head a bit at her comment. Penelope shrugged smiling. It wasn't the best food on earth, hell no, but for now, it was all she needed to feel better, and that was more than enough.

* * *

On Monday morning, Derek was released from the hospital. He was allowed to walk only a few steps a day and had to rest the most time. Penelope frowned at the thought of Derek relaxing on the couch the whole day. That wasn't him, and she knew he would be restless very soon. His wounds yet had still to heal, and Derek would need his rest,. He understood that, but Penelope knew him better. Derek would have an adverse mood at one point if she didn't keep him entertained.  
A nurse brought him to Penelope's car. He was sitting in a wheelchair. Derek's mood hadn't been good over the weekend, and now it didn't look like he was doing better. Maybe Hank would lift up his spirit. The little boy was waiting in Penelope's apartment, together with his grandmother. Hank couldn't wait to see his daddy again, he was excited beyond words.  
When Derek reached her, she smiled at him. Derek cracked a slight smile too and rose from the wheelchair. Penelope grabbed his go bag and threw it into the trunk.  
"Ready to come home?" Penelope asked him. Derek nodded slowly.  
"Yeah, can't wait to get out of here," he answered and sat down on the passenger's seat. Penelope sat down in the driver's seat and started Esther.  
"Hank and your mom are waiting in my apartment, do you want to head right home?" Penelope asked him. But Derek remained silent for a few moments until he finally shook his head.  
"Can we stop somewhere and have that ice cream we wanted to have that day we met Savannah in the park?" He asked then. Penelope nodded. "Yes, sure, Handsome, whatever you want."  
"Would be nice to breathe some fresh air before heading ho...to your apartment," he answered. Penelope looked at his direction and placed a hand tenderly on his.  
"Home, before we head home," she smiled at him when his eyes met hers. Derek nodded and gifted her with a half smile which meant a lot to her. Seeing Derek smile was everything she needed to make her day better.  
Derek squeezed her hand softly before they headed to the park to get their ice cream. While Derek was waiting on a bench near the car, Penelope bought ice cream for both of them. She slowly walked back to Derek and sat down beside him, after she'd handed him his portion.  
"Enjoy, Handsome. It's the best ice cream in town," Penelope murmured, already tasting her ice. Derek remained silent while they were eating and so he did when they finished. Penelope shifted closer to the man she loved so much and took his hand in hers.  
She smiled at him when he turned his head to look at her.  
"Are you okay?" Penelope remained looking at him. And when Derek finally nodded and smiled a bit, Penelope felt she'd held her breath, so she let out a sigh of relief.  
"I feel like I'm going to be okay. I hate hospitals so much, they always depress me. But now, sitting here with you and having some of that delicious ice cream make things much better," Derek said then, truthfully. Penelope smiled at his words.  
"That's great to hear, Shugar Shack. I was really concerned about you, still am. But I think you'll be better sooner than you think. I'm glad that you're out of the hospital," she told him. Derek smiled again and loosened his grip on Penelope's hand just to wrap her into a loving one-arm embrace. Happily, Penelope snuggled closer to him, placed her head against his chest and sighed. It felt too good to be true, Derek holding her in his strong, muscular arms.  
"Yeah, I hope so," was Derek's answer to her words. He began to stroke small circles on her upper arm.  
"All this stuff with Savannah. I didn't think it would affect me the way it does, you know? I mean, what happened to me? Sometimes I don't recognize myself anymore. I changed too much because of that marriage. Should've ended it before it all started."  
Penelope listened to him, quietly. It was good that he actually talked about the things in his mind and Penelope wouldn't stop him. She was just glad that he opened up to her, that he still trusted her despite the things which had happened to him.  
"But then there was this pregnancy, I love Hank, really do. He was all that kept me going. And I hated the loss of contact with you, with Spencer and the rest of our team. I missed you all lots, and at one point I just stopped thinking and took the easier way. It was all wrong, now I know it."  
"But it's not too late to change things you know that, right?"  
She could feel him nodding, for she was still snuggled against him and smiled a bit.  
"I will try and do anything to make the life better again for Hank and me. I just have to figure some things out."  
"Take your time, Handsome. You don't have to rush into something you're not ready for or not alright with. By the way, Emily told me, you're always welcome back to the BAU whenever you want to. We all would love to have you back with us. It wasn't the same without you."  
"Sounds pretty nice. But what about Hank?" Derek asked thoughtfully. But Penelope already had figured this little thing out.  
"I'm here. I can pick Hank up from kindergarten, bring him to his friends in the afternoon, cook dinner for him. It would be nice to have him around when you're away."  
"I don't want us to be a burden for you, Penelope," she knew this would be his answer, so she padded his chest with her hand and looked up to him.  
"You're not. Both of you. I love Hank, and I love you, you stubborn man," she said softly. "You would never be a burden for me. I'm happy if you want me around. I can help you raise Hank if you let me," she told him, waiting for his response after that for a long while.  
"You really want that?" He asked her when she was already about to apologize for rushing too fast forward.  
"I wouldn't say it if I didn't mean it, silly," she answered, grinning at him.  
"You're just too good for me, Penelope Garcia. Thank you," he said silently, his face having a much calmer expression now, almost relieved.  
"Stop, I'm not. It's just what I want to do. It's what you would do for me if it were me. So Mr. Hot and Sexy, please stop saying I'm too good for you or you don't deserve that because you do. Penelope out."  
That was the first time in some days she heard him laughing. His chest was vibrating while he did so and Penelope enjoyed it so much. She was grinning from ear to ear, happy to see him free of some of his worries again.  
"Alright, Baby Girl, message received," he said, still chuckling. He squeezed her to his side and Penelope wrapped her arms around his waist, enjoying to be so close to him. Days before she'd never thought he could actually love her. Now, everything had changed for both of them. Derek had some way to go, he had to heal physically and mentally, but now she knew, everything would be alright. They would pull him through now that Savannah was locked in jail for a long, long time.  
"Hey, let's head home Hot Stuff," she suggested after a long moment of cuddling together.  
Derek held her close, caressing her upper arm lovingly.  
"Yeah, let's go home, Baby Girl," he answered, and they both strolled back to her car. They headed back home to Penelope's apartment where they would meet Hank and Fran who were waiting impatiently for their arrival.


	12. Chapter 11

Derek didn't know why he felt so nervous, seeing Hank again. He hadn't seen the boy since he'd left Savannah, the moment at the park a few days ago didn't count to him. Derek had been too angry back then when Savannah had interrupted him and Penelope.  
Penelope had told him Hank was eager to see his dad again, she'd wanted to bring him with her to the hospital, but Derek had refused. He was afraid of Hank's reaction, even if he'd missed his son entirely. Penelope had understood him and given him the time he needed.  
Now, he stood in front of Penelope's apartment door, waiting for her to open it. He wasn't steady on his feet after the walk from the car, both of his legs hurt, also the other wounds. But all he felt was nervousness.  
"Hey."  
Derek brought his attention back to Penelope. She'd found her keys but was watching him.  
"He really did miss you lots. We told him not to jump on you, but you'll see, he's thrilled to bits because you're coming home today."  
She smiled at him, and all Derek could do, was nodding in response. If Penelope said it, he did believe her. She'd never lied to him.  
"Don't know why I'm nervous at all," he told her honestly. Penelope was easy to talk to. Something that would never change.  
"No need to be nervous. Fran and I are there to help you for the next few days, even if your mom has to fly home tomorrow early in the morning. She's just a phone call away, and I'm with you as long as you need me."  
Derek smiled at the woman in front of him and nodded. He felt at ease with Penelope at his side, she was able to relax him within seconds.  
She made him feel safe.  
"Alright. Let's go," Derek said then, ready now to face his mom and his son.  
Penelope nodded in agreement, but before she opened the door, she placed her hand on his chest and gave him a tender kiss on his lips.  
"Now we can go," she whispered as he smiled into their kiss.  
Penelope turned around then and opened her front door.  
It didn't take a second until Hank came running towards them.  
"Daddy!", the little boy screamed in excitement but suddenly stopped when he realized that he gave his promise not to jump on his daddy because he was hurt.  
"Hey, man," Derek said. He couldn't stop smiling when he slowly kneeled down in front of his son. If he'd thought he was nervous then he knew now, Penelope was right. There was no need to be. It all felt better when Derek saw Hank again. So he pulled his son into his healthful arm and felt Hank wrapping his little arms tightly around his neck.  
"I missed you, my son," he whispered into the curls of Hanks' hair and squeezed him a little.  
"Missed ya too, daddy," Hank answered clinging to him as if he would never ever let him go again.  
"Did a painting for ya daddy," the little boy told Derek, and he smiled.  
"I can't wait to see it, Hank," Derek told his son and let him out of his embrace. Hank ran away to get the picture, while Penelope helped him to rose back to his feet again. His legs hurt a lot but really? Derek couldn't care less about it.  
Derek's mom now came to him and pulled him into a loving embrace.  
"Good to have you back home, baby," she said and smiled at him. "Come on, sit down," she joined Derek on his slow way to the couch and sat down right beside him. Derek loved to have his mother at his side, he would enjoy her company as long as she would be able to stay. Hank followed them with his picture and sat down on Fran's lap. He gave the image to Derek who looked at the painting, his son did for him. There were several stickmen on it with different hair colors: Derek and Penelope, standing together with Fran, Sarah, and Desiree, also there was Spencer and of course his son. Hank described every person in the picture as good as he was able to speak, with only two years of age. Derek didn't understand every word his son said, but he loved the picture anyway.  
"You did so great Hank, daddy loves it," he told his son lovingly and placed a kiss on his son's forehead who grinned proudly at his dad's words.  
"We can put it in the fridge, so we see it every day," he suggested, not thinking twice about his words. Suddenly ashamed when he realized what he'd said, Derek looked to Penelope, with an apology on his lips. But she smiled an nodded.  
"Great idea, want to do it now, Hank?" She asked her godson who nodded excitingly.  
"Yeah," the little boy answered his godmother, grinning from ear to ear as he stood up from his grandmother's lap to join Penelope. They walked over to the fridge, and Derek just watched them together.  
"You see, it'll work, the three of you," his mother said quietly, watching Penelope and Hank too. "She did so well with him over the weekend, and Hank loves her. He didn't ask about Savannah until now."  
"He didn't?" Derek thought Hank would have a hard time to understand, his mama was in jail.  
"No. It seems like Savannah hadn't been herself the past few months. Hank had been with friends mostly, so he was used to not seeing her at all. He did miss you. Indeed, the mother of his friend told me that when I picked Hank up."  
"I want to raise him like he's mine, mama. I'm afraid, but knowing, Penelope is there and that my mama's just a phone call away makes it easier."  
"I know it's easy to say it, but don't be afraid Baby Boy. You'll do great because you're like your father. You care deeply about the people you love. Hank may don't have to be your blood, you love him, and that's the thing which counts most. And that little boy over there loves you so much, Derek. You're his father, no matter what."  
Derek, feeling all the emotions welling up in him again, nodded. Suddenly he felt his mothers arm around his shoulder, pulling him towards her and for this moment, Derek gave in to his feelings and leaned against her. He desperately needed his mothers comfort today, and there was no need to be ashamed in front of her and Penelope. Derek closed his tired eyes for a moment, just enjoying to be close to his mother.  
"Thank you, mama," he whispered silently.  
Fran kissed his forehead and held him in his arms tightly.  
"I really don't want to leave you so soon, Baby Boy. If you need me, don't hesitate to call me alright? Anytime."  
"I will, mama. But I'll do fine. It's going to be fine I promise, I just have to heal and figure things out," he answered. Talking to his mom always helped him even if he wasn't good at talking about his feelings. Fran Morgan understood him without telling her what was wrong. Just like Penelope did.  
"It will be. I'm glad that you're safe now. I will call you every day for the next weeks my lovely son. You have to promise me one thing."  
"What, mama?" Derek asked, still wrapped in her arms. He didn't even remember the last time they sat together like this. But he realized how much he'd missed it. Derek held his eyes still closed, it was very relaxing.  
"Promise me to be honest with me from now on, alright? You don't have to be strong. It's alright to be weak, we all are from time to time."  
"I'll try, that I can promise you," he answered honestly. Derek would try to let the people who loved him in. It wouldn't be easy. First, he had a lot of work to do, but he would try.  
"That's enough for now." His mother kissed his forehead again, and he smiled a bit.  
"Thanks," he answered, relieved that his mother didn't push him too far.  
"You never have to thank me for anything. I'm glad I'm here to help you. And I'm glad to see how loved you are," Fran whispered, their conversation still too silent for Penelope and Hank to hear. But the two of them were still in the kitchen area, Penelope had convinced Hank to help her fixing dinner for the four of them.  
Derek opened his eyes and watched Penelope and Hank together. He couldn't help himself, the sight made him smile and for the first time in a long while he felt peace. Penelope loved him, he knew it now. She would help him, wouldn't leave him or betray him. Derek needed time, but he trusted her like no one else besides his family.  
Suddenly, Penelope looked up from what she was doing and smiled at him. Derek's heart stopped a beat as he saw her standing there with his son, smiling at him. Derek was still in his mother's embrace, he felt safe and at ease. Penelope beaming at him made it even better. It was a sure thing that he smiled back at her.  
A few minutes later, Penelope and Hank brought their dinner to the living room table. It wasn't much, but Derek wasn't hungry anyway, just tired. But he had to eat something before taking his medication.  
Fran and Penelope chatted and laughed a lot while the four of them ate together. Derek just listened to them, while he helped Hank with his food. He could move his hurt arm, if he did it slowly, it didn't hurt that much.  
Some while later, Penelope brought Hank to bed and tucked him in. Somehow she and his mother had made a makeshift bed for him in Penelope's bedroom so Hank could stay with them. Fran said her goodbyes to Penelope and Derek. She would leave early in the morning. She had refused Derek's offer to come over to her hotel to say goodbye.  
"You'll need your rest, it's alright."  
Derek accepted his mother's words. She wouldn't let him so he would rest like his mother wanted him to. After his mom was gone, Penelope came over to him and stopped right in front of him.  
"Tired, Handsome?" She asked him, a tender smile on her red colored lips.  
"Yeah," feeling exhausted he nodded towards the couch. "It's getting late," he murmured, not really knowing what to do. Penelope, like always sensed it and took both his hands in hers.  
"Don't think about sleeping on the couch, we've slept together in my bed before, and if you don't bother, I wouldn't like to change it," she said, still smiling at him.  
"I don't bother Baby Girl," Derek answered, almost whispering as he looked into Penelope's eyes. Indeed he'd been hoping for having her in his arms when he would drift off to sleep.  
They didn't waste more time and got themselves ready for bed. Derek needed some help removing his shirt and pants, but Penelope helped him selflessly and managed it, that he didn't feel ashamed for needing help. Not much time after they both laid down to bed, Derek felt awkward. He didn't know what to do. There had been a time when he would have laughed at behavior like this, but he couldn't stop himself.  
Derek lay on his back, waiting for Penelope to do something. He stared at the ceiling, reminding silent.  
"Hey," Derek turned his head around to face her. She was looking at him, waiting for him to relax a bit.  
"Are you alright?" She asked him silently. Hank was sleeping right beside them, not caring one bit about them.  
Derek nodded slowly. "I just don't know how to act." It was hard to admit it, but he felt relief when the words were finally spoken. He wanted her to help him, even if he couldn't confirm it right now in words. Penelope always knew how to help him.  
"Just like ever, do what you like. Anything that makes you comfortable, Hot Stuff."  
"I'm trying." It wasn't that easy, he didn't want to make a wrong move, even if he knew, Penelope loved him like he loved her.  
"Let me help you," she whispered, snuggling closer to his right side, where he wasn't hurt. She pulled one arm around his waist and placed her head on his chest after she covered both of them with her blanket. Without another thought, he wrapped his healthful arm around her and squeezed her to him.  
Feeling more relaxed than before he closed his eyes after he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.  
"Thank you, Baby Girl," whispered. What would he do without her? He would still drown in his own sorrow.  
Derek leaned his head against Penelope's and sighed as much as he was able to without hurting his ribs.  
"You really don't have to thank me, Sugar Shack. I'm glad to have you here with me," she whispered back, stroking small circles with her hand over his chest.  
"I have to. We hadn't heard from each other for so long, and all I brought with me was trouble. You went through so much because of me, and I'm really sorry."  
"Don't, Hot Stuff. All I care about is having you back in my life. And the best part about it is that you told me you love me. I mean that's just so incredibly awesome, it's like a dream came true. So don't worry, Handsome, I'll gladly take any trouble that comes along with you."  
Derek was overwhelmed with emotions. That was his Penelope, seeing the good in everything and everyone. She was able to help him recover. Penelope was his better half, his God-Given Solace and he loved her even more at this moment. He couldn't speak, knowing his voice would break if he would say anything. Instead, Derek cradled Penelope more toward him. He knew she would understand. Penelope snuggled more against him, if that was even possible and placed a tender kiss on his bare chest.  
It took him a moment until he could say something, he needed to spit it out, even if he'd told her before.  
"I love you, Penelope Garcia. I love you so damn much."


	13. Chapter 12

Derek felt safe, surrounded by the natural scent of his beautiful Baby Girl, sensing her head on his chest and her arm around his waist, holding him firmly. He hadn't felt like this for a very long time. Goosebumps appeared all over his bare chest when Derek felt her breath on his skin. Why hadn't he told her earlier how he felt for her? Because he was fucking afraid, that was the one and only reason. Derek didn't believe back then, that Penelope would be able to love him beyond friendship, but here she was, laying in his arms after she'd saved him from falling apart.  
Derek himself never had thought he could love a woman the way he felt towards Penelope. His heart began to race in his chest every time she looked at him. He felt himself reaching out to her so often, wanted her as close to him as possible. He began to caress the part of her arm he could reach when she started to stir in his arms. Slowly, he placed a tender kiss on her forehead.  
"Good morning, Baby Girl," he whispered.  
"I'll show you a good morning, Hot Stuff," Penelope whispered back, he heard the smile in her voice.  
"How did you sleep?" She asked right afterward turning her head so she could look at him. It was the most beautiful sight he'd ever had in his whole life, seeing Penelope without makeup and sleepy eyes. Derek almost forgot how to answer her but felt himself smiling.  
"Earth to Derek Morgan!" Grinning, Penelope watched him, he realized it then and cleared his voice.  
"Good, I've slept really good. How did you sleep?" Derek managed to answer.  
"I've had the best sleep ever since you decided to come back to me," the beautiful woman in his arms answered and caused him to smile once more.  
"Yeah, same here Baby Girl."  
They lay together arm in arm for another while, without the need to say something more until Hank woke up and found his way to join them in bed.  
The boy settled between them and began to talk as soon as he'd made himself comfortable. Derek didn't understand many words, but he listened anyway. So much time had passed where he hadn't been able to hear the voice of his son and Derek enjoyed it very much. An hour later they decided that it was time for breakfast, after that they would bring Hank to the kindergarten. Derek enjoyed the breakfast and the short drive in the car to Hank's kindergarten. Penelope didn't allow him to walk together with them into the house, so he waited in her car. He knew he yet had to get his strength back, so he didn't argue with Penelope.  
It was against his personality, but just a few days ago he'd been reminded of how fast one life could end. Derek wanted to spend as many years as possible together with Penelope and Hank. Maybe she and Derek weren't too old to have another child, a little Penelope, or Derek. He knew Penelope always wanted to have children on her own and yet she was looking after Hank like he was her's.  
Like it should be.  
Derek didn't realize it when Penelope came back into her car, he almost jumped out of his seat, when she closed the door.  
"Oh, I'm sorry, Handsome. I thought you've heard me!"  
"Guess, I was daydreaming, no need to apologize, Baby Girl," Derek answered with a calming smile when she placed her hand on his leg.  
"Are you alright? Because you look like that daydream wasn't about me, Handsome. Your beautiful smile was missing until now."  
"That's because you were missing at my side," he answered playfully which caused Penelope to laugh.  
"I will take you on your word for this time, Mr. Hot and Sexy! But, honestly, if something's wrong, you gotta tell me alright?"  
"I promise, I will. I won't let it get that far anymore."  
The last year hadn't been easy on him, and he had a lot to think about, but he wouldn't be alone. The beautiful blonde woman beside him would stick to his side no matter what was about to come. He would let his body heal, and then he would take Emily on her word. Derek knew he wasn't complete without his job as a profiler. He needed his work as much as he needed his son and Penelope at his side. That he was entirely sure about.

* * *

 **Two months later**  
Derek had been fully healed. His ribs didn't hurt anymore, and he'd started working as a profiler a week ago.  
He felt better than ever.  
With Penelope at his side, everything made more sense to him. Derek loved her profoundly and trusted her with all his heart. He'd struggled many times during his healing progress, but every time Penelope was at his side as if she would have sensed his struggle. They'd created a daily rhythm together with Hank and every day Derek saw how much his little son enjoyed this family life. Hank had yet to ask about Savannah, the little boy hadn't mentioned her for one time. Penelope cared about his son as if he was her own and he loved her even more for this. This gorgeous woman had such a big heart and Derek was glad for having her in his life.  
Not just as his best friend, but his love.  
And today, he'd decided to make a step into her relationship. He hadn't planned on it, not really, to be honest, it had jumped into his mind when JJ had asked him if Hank wanted to have an overnight party with her youngest son Micheal.  
Derek immediately had agreed.  
And so, on Friday evening, he and Penelope would have some time on their own. He'd thought about many things to do with her, but he'd decided they would do what they ever did on Friday evenings: movie night with tons of popcorn, beer, and wine.  
And Derek would ask her to marry her.  
He couldn't remember ever being so nervous.  
Derek still remembered the day, Penelope had refused Kevin Lynch's proposal. Yes, he wasn't that nerdy technical analyst but yet he was nervous. Penelope had told him she never saw herself as a person who would get married someday. But maybe, just maybe she loved him enough to marry him. Derek hadn't realized that he wanted things like this...marriage, children...but since Hank, everything had changed. He desired to call Penelope his wife, wanted to have children with her if it was still possible.  
Derek knew he was still married to Savannah. But she was in prison, and the divorce paper's had been signed so it was just a matter of time until he would be free to marry Penelope if she wanted him.  
So he'd walked into the town earlier the day and bought Penelope a ring he knew she would love, it screamed her name over and over. Then, he drove home, knowing, Penelope would pick up Hank and bring him to JJ.  
On his way home, he bought some dinner in Penelope's favorite restaurant, also her favorite wine. He wanted to do it right this time. Derek set the tables, opened the wine and even lightened some candles all over the room. Finishing his work, he looked around the room and was satisfied with what he did. Quite romantic, Derek thought to himself. Penelope could be back anytime soon, so he decided to change his clothes and to wait for her.  
30 minutes later the front door opened and the nervous mess Derek Morgan stopped pacing around the room.  
Finally, his Baby Girl had arrived.  
A surprised look crossed her face as she saw what Derek had done for her, but got quickly replaced by a huge smile as she shut the door.  
"Hot Stuff, oh my god," she whispered, looking around the room. Derek had dimmed the light earlier and turned on some quiet music in the background.  
"I thought we could need some time for the two of us again," Derek told her, smiling at her expression.  
"That's such a good idea, thank you!"  
He walked over to the love of his life and wrapped his arms around her to bring her gorgeous body to his chest. Derek kissed her tenderly when she drew her arms around his neck.  
"Hello to you too, Handsome," she whispered, smiling.  
"I hope you're hungry and want to enjoy some private time with me."  
"There's nothing, I repeat, nothing I would love to do more. Oh my Noir Hero, thank you so much!"  
They walked over to the table where they enjoyed their dinner and talked for a lot of time. Derek got more nervous with every passing minute, but he managed to stay calm as best as he could. He decided then that he couldn't wait until they'd watched a movie, he needed to propose now or never.  
Penelope was talking about some dress she'd bought last weekend when he put a hand on her's.  
"Baby Girl?"  
"Hot Stuff?" Penelope looked at him in confusion. She didn't understand what was going on, but how could she? Derek was sure that she now would see the nervous mess he was. He couldn't hide it anymore, so he took a deep breath.  
"Derek? What is wrong?" Penelope asked him, concerned now, she frowned as she looked at him. "You look like you're about to vomit, do you feel sick?"  
"No...no Baby Girl, I'm alright. I just have something I want to ask you...," he began. Penelope's eyes widened.  
"Derek...," she whispered. He squeezed her hand and rose to his feet. The ring, well hidden in his pants pockets felt like a phenomenal weight now. Derek swallowed and pulled the small box out, well aware of the fact that Penelope was staring at him wide-eyed, apparently in shock.  
Derek kneeled down in front of her, he felt sweat streaming down his spine. Hell, he was so fucking nervous. Derek looked at Penelope, locked eyes with her as he took her hand, which lay limp on her thigh.  
"Penelope, ever since we work together, I'm in love with you. I was so afraid that it cost us too many years and I almost lost you..."  
"Derek..."  
"Wait, let me talk, Baby Girl, I have to tell you..." Derek's voice trembled as he stopped her.  
"I was so afraid to lose our friendship, you were, you are the most important person in my life, and I love you more than words can say. You bring the sunshine in my life, you make me feel complete...you make me feel safe. For the rest of our life, I want us to be together, I want us to be a family. And that's why I'm asking you: Penelope Grace Garcia, do you want to marry me?"  
Silence.  
Long, uncomfortable silence filled the room. Penelope still stared at him in shock, her hand in his felt limp.  
Derek, still kneeling in front of her, felt more nervous with every passing second. It felt like hours to him until Penelope finally snapped back to the present.  
"Derek...Derek, do you really want that? I mean, you're not divorced yet. And I...I'm...I mean, how could you want it...me...this? Derek, are you making fun of me?"  
Her hand began to tremble in his as she talked herself into some kind of panic attack. That wasn't how he thought she would react but it wasn't a no at least.  
"Baby Girl, I would never make fun with something like that," he whispered, opening the small box to show her the engagement ring he'd bought just a few hours ago.  
Penelope looked at the ring in his hands, her eyes full of unshed tears.  
"Baby Girl...do you want to marry me?" He asked her again, his voice almost a whisper when he still hadn't a reaction.  
Penelope looked at him a lone tear streaming down her face as she slowly nodded.  
"Yes, yes, sure! Oh, my God, I want to marry you more than anything Derek Morgan," Penelope whispered in a teary voice. Derek felt as if a lot of weight had been lifted off his shoulders and he exhaled a deep breath of relief.  
"God, Penelope, you don't make this easy for me," he joked and, with trembling hands, he pulled the ring out of the box and on Penelope's finger.  
"I'm so sorry, I just kinda panicked," she whispered, watching him while he put the ring on her finger. "I still can't sometimes believe that you really want me," she said. Derek looked at her and saw the tears that were streaming down her face.  
He smiled at the beautiful sight in front of him and rose to his feet. Derek wiped away some of the tears on her cheek. He took both of her hands and helped her to her feet, so she was standing right in front of him.  
"Baby Girl. It always has been you. I love you so damn much, and right now, you made the happiest man on earth out of me, do you know that?"  
She shook her head, trying to hide a sob as she smiled a teary smile. God, she was the most beautiful human being in just this second. Derek couldn't be happier that she truly wanted him as her husband.  
Derek pulled her into his arms as she began to weep out of control. She held on him for dear life after she'd wrapped her arms around his waist.  
"I love you so much, Derek! So, so much!" She sobbed into his chest. "If I'd lost you...," she began, but Derek stopped her.  
"Shh Baby Girl, I'm here, and I'm going to be alright, many thanks to you. I'm not leaving you and Hank anytime soon," he whispered and held her close. Penelope slowly nodded, slowly beginning to calm down.  
"I love you too Baby Girl, so so much!"


	14. Chapter 13

The next few weeks passed by without special happenings. Penelope, Derek, and Hank made themselves comfortable as the little family they were now. Penelope found herself enjoying every day so much more than before. She was the happiest human being, honestly. There was no day where Penelope wouldn't wake up with the brightest, most blissful smile on her lips, next to the man she loved so, so much. Hank was the loveliest child she'd ever met besides JJ's kids. He was patient, almost never cried, went to bed when it was time to do so. The little boy never asked about his real mom.  
Yesterday, Hank had called her Mama for the first time, when he, Penelope and Derek had been outside in a park. Penelope had frozen in place as he called her Mama and so had Derek. She couldn't have stopped her happy tears as she'd cuddled the little boy to her chest. Derek had told her weeks ago that he wanted her to be Hanks mom, so this little word had brought so much happiness to their life that she almost felt like she was flying.  
Derek had seen a lawyer to make sure, Hank would be able to stay with them. He wanted the custody of his beloved son together with Penelope. Both of them decided to raise the little child as if he were their own. It would take some time, both of them had to adopt Hank or at least one of them, but they'd decided they both would do it. Penelope and Derek didn't know if Savannah had told Hank's bio dad that the little guy was his. Savannah had said Derek, when he visited her just for this reason, he didn't know but both, Derek and Penelope didn't trust that woman who behind bars now for many years. With everything on its way, Derek and Penelope felt relieved. Soon, Hank would be their child, they couldn't care less that it wasn't by blood.  
But luck wouldn't last, she knew it.  
This morning felt different even if nothing had changed. The three of them had breakfast together, and after getting ready, Derek and Penelope brought Hank to the kindergarten like every day. They headed to work together, but Penelope couldn't shake off the wrong feeling in her gut.  
"What's wrong, Baby Girl?" Derek asked her as they stepped into the elevator. She pressed the button and the doors closed.  
"I don't know, Hot Stuff. It's just, maybe I'm too happy, and my brain thinks I shouldn't. I have a bad feeling that's all."  
"You deserve to be happy, Baby Girl. It'll all be good." Derek wrapped his arm around her shoulder while they waited for the elevator to stop.  
"But you told me to always trust my gut, Derek," Penelope argued which caused Derek to chuckle. She knew that he knew she was right and for the first time this morning she was able to smile.  
"Okay, you're right...what is this feeling about?" Derek asked her as they stepped out of the elevator. They walked to his office first, and when he opened the door, Penelope answered thoughtfully.  
"I can't get the point on it. That's it. I just have this feeling...," Penelope shrugged and, frustrated, sat down on his leather couch. "Maybe I just haven't slept that good," she said, leaning her head against the sofa.  
Derek, the handsome man that he was, sat down beside her, pulled her into a loving embrace and placed a tender kiss on her forehead.  
"Whatever it is, Baby Girl, we will figure this out. It's going to be okay, I promise."  
Penelope nodded and melted into Derek's strong arms. Maybe it was nothing, but she couldn't shake off the feeling that something was severely wrong.  
The team didn't get a new case today, so at 5 pm, everyone was able to get home to their families. Penelope was glad that Derek was with her. He was able to calm her down with just one of his bright smiles, he was able to share again.  
Derek was almost like himself again. There were days when he wouldn't talk a lot when he would be lost in his own world. But they were getting less and less. Every time Penelope was able to get him out of this dark place. She was relieved that he'd been more patient than she'd have thought the day, she picked him up from the hospital. But Derek had surprised her like many times before.  
They drove in silence to the kindergarten to pick up Hank. When Derek parked his car in the parking lot almost ten minutes later, Penelope realized that there was no light on in the small kindergarten. No Hank was waiting for them like every single day. Indeed, there was no one at the kindergarten waiting for them.  
"Please tell me, Spencer picked him up," Penelope whispered, her hands beginning to shaking.  
"No."  
Derek's answer was short, as he pulled out his cell phone to dial Spencer's number. Penelope waited impatiently until Spencer answered the call.  
"Hey, Pretty Boy. I know it's not your day, but did you pick up Hank?" Derek listened to his best friend, but Penelope could tell by his body language that Hank wasn't with his godfather.  
So she pulled out her own cell to call the kindergarten. Someone must answer the phone, at least she was hoping.  
"Hello?"  
Penelope sighed in relief when indeed, someone answered the phone.  
"Hello, this is Penelope Garcia. I just wanted to pick up Hank Morgan, but the kindergarten is closed. Did something happen to my godson?"  
"Uhm, well Miss Garcia. Honestly, his father picked him up at 4 in the afternoon. He handed us a court order, which tells that he's the legal guardian of Hank now. I wondered why you didn't tell us and tried to call you at home...," the woman on the other side of the line answered. Penelope was sure, Derek could hear her heart beating. He looked at her shocked expression as she tried to stay focused.  
"We're both working, that why Hank usually stays so long at the kindergarten. You have our numbers. Why didn't you try every one?" Penelope wasn't silent anymore. Someone was about to take Hank from her and Derek. It would destroy her handsome fiance and Penelope couldn't see a life without Hank anymore.  
"I'm sorry Miss Garcia, but I'll have to end the call now. I'm sorry that you get to know this news by phone. Have a good evening."  
The woman ended the call and left a shocked Penelope at the other end. Her eyes were wide opened, she was frozen in place, still holding her cell to her ear.  
"Baby Girl?"  
His concerned voice let her snap back into presence. Penelope looked at him and soon, her eyes were filled with tears.  
"Hank's father has him...he brought a court order and took our little boy with him," she told him, her voice shaky and full of emotion. That couldn't happen. It just couldn't.  
Derek didn't answer. He just stared at her.  
"What?" This word, not more than a silent whisper. If Penelope hadn't seen his lips moving she'd be sure she wouldn't have heard him saying something.  
"He...his father has him...," she answered again. Tears were streaming down her cheek, Penelope could feel it as she kept looking into his eyes.  
"Derek..."  
"No, please Penelope," Derek averted his eyes, looking at the kindergarten right in front of him. Penelope saw it in his whole body language. He didn't know what to do now. Penelope didn't either. She didn't know how to offer the love of her life some comfort when she too felt like her heart was ripped out of her chest.  
Derek started the engine of their car and drove them back to Penelope's apartment. No one said a word while they headed back home. A home they would share without Hank from now on.  
Penelope couldn't stop her tears from falling, as she sat silently on the passenger's seat, staring at her folded hands in her lap. She knew it, had felt it the whole day, and now they had the mess.

* * *

Meanwhile, Dr. Kurt Amnell sat in his luxury house with a big grin. He poured himself some expensive Scotch and laughed at the thought of Derek Morgan suffering the loss of his child. Indeed, Kurt was the father of Hank Morgan. He'd no interest in raising a child, Hank yet was a burden to him, even if the little boy was around him for nothing more than 3 hours. There was no court order, just a woman, a kindergartener who owed him something. He smiled, proud of himself for doing such a great job in kidnapping Hank.

* * *

Derek felt lost. Again. He'd ignored Penelope's attempts to talk to him, begged her to leave him alone. He knew he'd hurt her, he'd seen it in her eyes. But he couldn't handle the loss of his child to another man.  
Swallowing drink after drink, he sat in a dark corner of a small bar and grieved. He was beginning to feel numb again. A feeling he'd been craving for after he'd found out what Savannah had done to him. Now he craved for the same numbness. Derek didn't want to feel anything anymore. Someone sat down beside him, but Derek didn't bother to look up, he knew exactly who was sitting beside him.  
"What do you want, Rossi?" He asked the older man. Derek was already slightly drunk, but still not in the mood to talk to anyone.  
"I came looking for you. Garcia called me, she was out of mind because of you."  
"I'm sorry for that. I didn't mean to hurt Penelope."  
"But you did, son."  
Derek sighed and nodded. He knew it, and he was hoping, that Penelope would forgive him at one point. Derek just didn't know how to handle the mess that was his life.  
"You should know, she already called Hotch to help you. She's right now filling him in on the case."  
Now, Derek looked at the older man's direction. Penelope had been able to think before acting like a dumb ass - like him. She'd already found a solution while he decided to go back to his old actions, grieving for himself.  
"I'm such an idiot," Derek slurred, pushing away the half-full glass of Whisky in front of him.  
"Right now, yes you are, but it's good you found out all alone." Rossi grinned amused at him when Derek snorted.  
"I'm sorry man, I think I should drive home." Slightly swaying, Derek rose to his feet and searched for his keys, when he felt the older man's hand on his shoulder.  
"I'll give you a drive, you should leave your car here."  
Derek nodded and accepted the help of the older man. He paid for his drinks and together, they headed out of the bar. Rossi brought him home. As they stopped in a parking lot in front of Penelope's apartment complex, Rossi killed the engine and looked at Derek.  
"You'll be alright up there?" Rossi asked him, and Derek nodded.  
"Yeah. Thank you for clearing my head, old man," Derek answered.  
"Anytime, son."  
Derek smiled slightly and left the car without another word, heading straight towards his and Penelope's home. As soon as he opened the front door, a panicking Penelope hushed towards him.  
"Oh my god, he found you! Are you okay? I was so worried that you...did you drink? Derek?"  
Derek couldn't progress all the things she was asking him, so he just pulled her into a tight embrace, wrapping his arms around her waist.  
"I'm so sorry, Baby Girl. I shouldn't have left you like this earlier," he slurred, holding her close when he felt she wrapped her arms around him too.  
"It's okay Handsome. I can understand why you did so, the only thing that matters is you're back now."  
He cradled her against him tilting his head to inhale her scent. Derek didn't understand why he'd decided to take a drink then taking her aptitude to calm him down like now within seconds. Penelope was his solace, she grounded him.  
"Honestly, I'm sorry. I made you worry. You had to handle things all alone."  
"It's okay, really. Hotch will help us, everything will be alright," Penelope whispered, walking him towards the couch. She sat down with him, holding him as long as he needed her.  
"Thank you."  
"No thanks needed. Hank is my family too, just like you are. I want him back with us, and we'll get him back that's a promise. People shouldn't mess with Penelope Garcia soon to be Morgan when she's angry."  
Derek snorted and was even able to smile as he put a tender kiss on the top of her head.  
"Thank you, my Solace for being near, whenever I need you."  
"Thank you for letting me help you."  
"No thanks needed, Baby Girl." Exhausted from the day events he leaned back against the sofa, dragging Penelope with him.  
"You should take a nap, get sober. Hotch will be here in the morning with news," Penelope told him, and Derek nodded. He needed his rest now, just like Penelope, they needed their strength to fight for his...for their son.  
Quickly, both of them headed to bed. Derek did just let go of his beautiful fiance when needed, but as soon as they were laying in bed, he cradled her to him. He really needed her right now. Would ever need her at his side.  
He fell into an exhausting sleep very soon, dreaming about his son, hoping he would be alright, wherever he was.

* * *

At the other side of the city, little Hank was crying since he was brought to this house. The little boy cried for his dad and mom Penelope. Nothing would stop him. The maid, Anne, who was forced to stay with that little boy felt sorry for him. She hugged Hank and tried to calm him down, but nothing seemed to help until sleep finally came over his small body. Anne carried Hank to his new bed in an oversized room and covered him with a blanket. She wasn't allowed to leave the boys side. Not until they would be sent away to another state. Anne didn't understand what was going on here, but she knew, Dr. Amnell very well. He wasn't the kind guy the mother of the child in front of her had thought. Dr. Kurt Amnell wanted to destroy Derek Morgan. Why? Because her boss loved Savannah Morgan and she'd begged him to. Anne had been able to listen to the conversation, month's ago when Savannah had used her only call from the prison to talk to Dr. Amnell.  
Anne wasn't sure if she could keep her mouth shut, the poor boy was suffering, and she was sure his dad and mom - even if not by blood - were grieving too. But what could she do? There was no way Anne could contact Derek Morgan or anyone else. But she would do everything to protect that little rug rat from harm, that was for sure. Anne would never be able to have children on her own, Dr. Amnell had made sure of that, but that didn't mean she wouldn't care about other people's children.


	15. Chapter 14

Derek woke up to Penelope's frantic voice answering the phone.  
"Hotch, what's wrong?"  
He slowly sat up, ignoring his headache and listening to Penelope talking to their former boss. Derek could feel her panicking and placed a comforting hand on her shoulder. She'd been there for him yesterday, now was his turn. Penelope leaned into his touch as she ended the call. Her cell fell into her lap because her hands began to tremble.  
"Baby Girl, talk to me."  
Derek knew that bad news was about to come, but he needed to know what Hotch had found out.  
"It was Hotch. It exists not court order from Dr. Amnell, who apparently is the bio father of Hank. You know what that means, Derek? It says Hank is kidnapped, kidnapped and you know how much time children have. You Know it, Derek, we're running out of time. We have to find Hank, we have to save him!"  
"Hey motor mouth, stop for a second." Derek wrapped her in his strong arms. He felt her trembling all over her body as a sob escaped her mouth. Derek cradled her to his chest and let her weep bitterly into his shoulder. Penelope needed a moment of weakness too, and now it was Derek's job to stay focused. He'd had his moment of weakness yesterday.  
"We'll find him, Baby Girl. We work our magic together and gonna bring him back to us. I promise."  
Penelope nodded. She calmed down somehow, her hands firmly gripping his shirt.  
"Hank's going to be alright, right?" She asked him in a tearful voice.  
"Right, Baby Girl. Let's get ready, we have some work to do."

* * *

Penelope was beyond relief the moment, Derek had pulled her into his arms to comfort her. The news, she'd received from Hotch weren't satisfying, and that was the moment, Penelope had broken down. She needed Hank back at her and Derek's side, nothing more.  
After she'd calmed down from her break-down, they got themselves ready and headed right to the BAU. While Derek was driving, Penelope called all their team members for help. Needless to say, every one of them agreed to help Derek and Penelope. They met in the conference room not more than 30 minutes later.  
JJ, Emily, Tara, Spencer, Alvez, and Rossi listened carefully to her words. When she ended, JJ put a comforting hand on hers.  
"We'll find Hank."  
Penelope sighed and nodded. "Of course," she answered. "I'll go, let my babies run through the information we have on Dr. Amnell. Maybe I find something."  
Penelope needed to stay focused. Too many comforting words would just make her break down again, but she had to be strong for Derek and Hank. So, Penelope pulled her hand out of JJ's and rose to her feet. She placed her hand on Derek's shoulder for a moment, before Penelope grabbed her things and headed to her bat hole. While turning on her babies, and patiently waited for them to get started, Penelope made herself a cup of tea. Penelope's hands were still trembling, but she wouldn't give up. Not until Hank was back where he belonged to.  
Sighing she sat down in front of her computers and started her word. It didn't take her long to recognize how many buildings Dr. Amnell owned in and around Quantico.  
She typed a number on her phone to call her team.  
"I need more information," she started as soon as Emily had put her on the speaker, so everyone could listen to her news.  
"Dr. Amnell has in and around Quantico ten houses which are in his name, also he has a few other buildings, some of them are rented. If you don't have anything more, I'll have to run through all these names, and that will take hours!"  
"Alright, PG. You told us one of the kindergarteners said to you, that there is a court order. Is there any attorney which have rent a house or anything else?"  
"That's a good point Em," Penelope said relieved while typing furiously into the keyboard of her computer. "But I'm sorry...no, there's no attorney," she sighed after she had zero results.  
"Baby Girl, what about the kindergartener you talked to yesterday?" Derek asked her, her Noir Hero who always helped her through her blackouts.  
Penelope again typed furiously. "Thank you, my handsome hero," she said and waited for the results.  
"I found something," she said excitedly after her computers made a familiar sound to every one of them.  
"Lyla Wilson is a kindergartener from Hank. She had some problems in her past, mostly thievery. Dr. Amnell helped her finding this job at the kindergarten. He paid an attorney to delete her past."  
"We have to find her and talk to her," Emily said sternly as Penelope stopped talking."  
Find her, find Hank," was all Penelope answered before she sent Lyla Wilson's address to her team.

* * *

"Derek, you'll wait here. We go and find Lyla Wilson."  
"No way, Em, I'll go with you!"  
"You're not, Derek Morgan, you're personally involved, and I don't allow you to come with us. Stop discussing so we can go and bring that woman here. You waste time Morgan!"  
Derek shot her a look and stormed out of the conference room. He wanted to find his son, all of them knew how much time a child had when it was kidnapped: 24 hours. That meant, Hank had only eight hours left. That wasn't long, and Derek hated to sit and wait for the others to do their jobs. So, he did what he was best at: he grabbed his car and headed to Dr. Amnell to talk to him personally.  
The drive took about 30 minutes, and at the moment, Derek parked his car, he put his cell on vibrate and hid it in his left shoe. Garcia should be able to find him if something would happen to him too.  
Derek locked his car and walked to the front door. He rang the doorbell and waited. A moment later, Dr. Kurt Amnell opened the door with a big grin on his face.  
"Agent Morgan! So good to see you!" The man greeted him. Derek wanted to say something when he felt a stinging sensation on his neck. He turned around but on the halfway, everything was getting black, and Derek slumped to the ground.

* * *

Lyla Wilson sat in the interrogation room for more than thirty minutes now. She was nervous, for she knew what was about t come. Chewing on her fingernails, she waited for the FBI Agents to walk in and ask her questions.  
Lyla knew she was an awful liar. Soon, Dr. Amnell would be convicted as a child kidnapper, and she would be free of his grip.  
The door opened revealing the woman who'd she talked to earlier, SSA Jennifer Jareau. She was talking to someone in her cell but ended the call as soon as she'd closed the door.  
Jareau sat down in front of her and just stared at Lyla for a minute, but it felt much longer.  
"So, Miss Wilson, do you want to talk or...?"  
"Talk, I really want to tell you everything I know, but it already could be too late."  
"Then tell me."  
Lyla filled the woman in on why she was forced to help Dr. Amnell kidnap the little son of Derek Morgan. Dr. Amnell did that since the day he'd helped her find another job. "You owe me...that was everything he used to tell me every time I was forced to help him. I should say to Miss Garcia that Dr. Amnell brought a court order...I bet you already know that, but there exists no court order...I...I lied to Miss Garcia yesterday. Dr. Amnell brought the kid to one of his houses. I swear I don't know which house. But he wants to bring Hank out of the State. He doesn't like children, please, I made a mistake you have to find the little kid."  
She felt so sorry for taking a wrong road, but now it was too late, she just could make it up for helping a maniac kidnapping a child.

* * *

Frantically, Penelope rushed into the conference room.  
"Please, anyone, tell me that you know where Derek is!" She looked around the room, realizing there was no Morgen and exhaled a shuddering breath.  
Spencer rose to his feet and came to her.  
"What do you mean? He was supposed to wait here."  
"He isn't! I haven't seen him until you headed out to find Lyla Wilson!" Penelope began to panic, she didn't know where Derek was, she couldn't bear one more loss today.  
"Okay, calm down Garcia, did you track his cell?" She shook her head, Penelope couldn't think clearly. She was too upset with everything that had happened the last 16 hours, it was too much for her.  
"Do it, where ever he is, we will find him."  
Wiping away a lone tear that was running down her face, Penelope nodded and sat down in front of her laptop just at the moment, JJ came back from her inquiry.  
"Wilson talked, but she doesn't know where Hank is. Penelope, did you find something we could use?"  
Penelope nodded and mentioned to the information she'd brought with her while she kept searching for Derek.  
"Oh no...," staring at the screen, Penelope felt her heart stopping a beat. Why was Derek there? Why?  
"What is it?" Spencer came to a halt behind her, looking over her shoulder to see, what Penelope was seeing.  
"Derek...he is at Dr. Amnell's house..." Penelope couldn't do more but whisper. She apparently was in shock. Soon, Penelope felt JJ's comforting hands on her shoulder. She needed that right now before she would become absolutely crazy.  
"Okay, guys. Then we know where we're going to start, get yourselves ready, we'll drive to Dr. Kurt Amnell. He's the only one who knows where Hank Morgan is and we have to get our teammate back. Wheels up!"  
"I'm coming with you!" Penelope rose to her feet and grabbed her laptop, also her cellphone. She was ready, but when she looked up, she was met with the gaze of Emily Prentiss.  
"PG..."  
"No, Emily, no! You told Derek to stay behind, and now he's in danger. I'm not going to lose him or Hank, I'm coming with you, no matter what you say!"  
The two women stared at each other for several seconds, before Emily finally nodded.  
"Alright, you're in. But you wear a bulletproof vest, AND you stay behind, do you understand me?"  
"Yes!" Penelope didn't waste more time and headed out of the conference room, followed by the rest of her team.

* * *

Derek slowly woke up, but couldn't see anything. He was surrounded by darkness. Derek hated the dark, but he forced himself to remain as calm as possible. He tried to move but soon felt, he was chained. There was no way to remove his arms or legs from the chains, no matter what he tried.  
He would have to wait until Dr. Amnell would show up again.  
A long while later, the door to the room, he was locked in, opened. Two men walked inside. One of them turned on the light. Derek observed them carefully, but he couldn't recognize much, for both of them were dressed in black. Also, they wore masks to hide their faces.  
One of them was holding a knife in his hand, and Derek absolutely knew what was about to come.  
Both of them didn't say a word when they started to hit him as firm as possible. When they stabbed him enough to make him bleed, but yet not enough to kill him fast. Soon, his eyes were swollen, Derek was sure many of his ribs were broken. His whole body hurt, the men didn't leave out one part of it. He lost blood, but he would suffer some time until his injuries would finally kill him.  
"Greetings from Savannah, you son of a bitch!" One of the men hissed before both of them walked out again and left him in the darkness. It didn't take long before he passed out again.

* * *

Dr. Amnell sat in his office, back in his house and was watching the show, his two bodyguards were offering him. Derek Morgan always had been a man he wanted to see dead. Amnell always had been Savannah's number one, until Derek Morgan came into her life. Since then, he'd been the number two. Just interesting when her boyfriend was out on a case. That wasn't right, he, Kurt Amnell always got what he wanted, and he wanted to be the number one on Savannah Hayes list. So, when Savannah had called him last week, Amnell had decided to do a little bit more than just kidnapping Hank, so she was able to raise him as soon as she was out of prison. No, he would kill Derek Morgan to show her, where she belonged too. Hank Morgan was lucky to be Kurt's child. If he hadn't been, the kid already would be dead.  
Smiling to himself, Kurt didn't realize the front door bursting open. He even didn't recognize the FBI accompanied by the SWAT coming inside his house. His two bodyguards were treating Derek Morgan. Kurt was ignorant, he didn't think he would need more staff to protect him, because no one would attack him. Dr. Kurt Amnell had a lot of influence.  
But little did he know, that the FBI gave a damn shit about that fact. Soon, the doors to his office burst open.  
"FBI, Dr. Amnell you're arrested! Hands in the air!" A black haired woman, accompanied by an older FBI Agent and five SWAT people walked into the room. Kurt was shocked, but yet he smiled. They had arrested him, but they wouldn't find Hank Morgan if he had to say something about that. And Derek Morgan...well he was running out of time too. So, lifting his hands up in the air, Amnell rose to his feet, waiting for what was about to come.

* * *

Anne couldn't wait any longer. She knew she would do the right thing. Kurt hadn't come this morning like he'd promised he would do. Anne knew something was going on that made him cancel his visit. That was her only chance to call the BAU. Anne knew Hank's parents both worked there.  
"Hey little rug rat, let's call your mommy alright?" Suddenly, the boys face beamed up in delight, and he nodded. So, Anne searched for Penelope Garcia's number and typed it into her cell after she'd found it.  
"Penelope Garcia?"  
"Miss Garcia? My name is Anne, and I have your son."  
"Wait, what? Where are you, is Hank alright?"  
"He is alright, he's right in front of me. Look I don't want to help Kurt. I can't get your son stolen out of your life. So please, come and get him back, alright? I'll send you an address. Please, hurry, because I don't know when Kurt's men will come to bring the little rug rat out of the state."


	16. Chapter 15

Penelope wasn't far away from becoming insane. Derek was missed, and now she'd received a call from a woman who'd told her she had Hank. Could Penelope believe this? She sat alone in one of the FBI cars, waiting for the team to bring Derek back. Penelope climbed out of the car, she was waiting in and paced back and forth, talking hysterically to herself. Penelope needed to bring Hank back as soon as possible, Derek had help from their teammates. She didn't know how long it would take the team to rescue him and Anne, the woman who'd called her, had made sure that Penelope had to hurry.  
She knew it was absolutely crazy not to wait for the team. Penelope had to wait for them, she knew it. But instead of listening to herself, telling she would wait until the team would be back, she listened to her frantic inner voice, telling her to hurry to Hank's rescue. Penelope pulled out her cell and wrote a message to JJ. At least one of them would know where she was heading to. Penelope then climbed back into the car and started it. Tires squealing, she rushed out of the parking lot and drove to the address, Anne had told her to come to.

* * *

Derek didn't realize that much anymore. He was breathing hard, concentrating on his body to survive. Derek didn't want to die, he had too many reasons for wanting to live again: Penelope and Hank.  
Also, Derek needed to know that Hank was safe. He needed to apologize to Penelope for drinking again. He'd been such a burden for her and wanted to make it up to her, even if he knew Penelope wasn't mad at him. It was Derek who was mad at himself.  
His whole body felt like on fire, breathing was exhausting, and he hoped, his team would find him soon.  
Derek didn't realize the door to his room burst open. He also didn't hear JJ gasp in shock and Spencer running towards him. But Derek almost jumped and groaned in pain as soon as Spencer touched his throat to check his pulse. He wasn't able to open his eyes for they were swollen shut, so he didn't know who was with him in the room until they began to talk.  
"Call an ambulance, JJ! Hurry!"  
"Right on it!"  
Derek heard JJ running out of the room and suddenly felt Spencer's hands all over his injuries. Again, he groaned in pain, he couldn't stop it. These guys had hurt him pretty hard and the drugs, they'd used to sedate him made him feel dizzy and sick.  
"Sorry, I'm almost finished," Spencer told him. "An ambulance is on his way, just in case you want to know."  
"Penelope...Hank."  
Derek finally managed to ask his most important question to his best friend. Spencer would know what Derek was asking for.  
"We haven't found him until now, Penelope is waiting outside. JJ will bring her to you when she comes back."  
Derek didn't move, he couldn't, was still chained to whatever, but he wanted to get out of here to find Hank. So, Derek began to struggle with his chains, which only caused him to feel more and more pain.  
"Hey stop it, Derek. You'll hurt yourself more than you already are."  
Spencer's hands on his shoulders, Derek tried to relax somewhat.  
"Find him...," he murmured, and as soon as Spencer wanted to answer, JJ rushed back into the room.  
"Ambulance is on its way!"  
"Where is Penelope?" Spencer asked. "I told Derek you'd bring her with you.  
"She wasn't there anymore..." JJ answered silently. Derek was sure she was hoping, he wouldn't hear her words.  
"Where...is..she?" Derek needed much time to ask these words. His mouth hurt as much as everything else. But the need to know where his Baby Girl was, was overwhelming.  
"She went out on her own to bring Hank back...," JJ sighed.  
"What?" This time, Spencer jumped in. "She can't do that on her own, she hasn't enough experience! Where is she?"  
"She sent me an address, told me she couldn't wait any longer. As soon as Derek's in the ambulance, we'll follow her!"  
"Go, I'll wait with him."  
Tara had joined them without anyone recognizing it. Derek was relieved, so JJ and Spencer could go after Penelope.  
"Go!" Derek told them too, feeling weaker with every passing minute. They needed to save Penelope and Hank that was all that mattered to him.  
"Tell us in which hospital they brought him!" JJ begged Tara who agreed.  
"I'll drive with him and keep you updated on everything."  
"Alright, thanks! Derek hang on there alright?"  
Derek weakly tried to nod which caused more pain rushing through his body. Instead, he reminded silent. Hearing JJ and Spencer running out of the room he decided to focus on his body again until help was about to come.

* * *

"When did she sent the message?"  
"About an hour ago, we have to hurry!"  
JJ and Spencer were driving as fast as possible to the address, Penelope had sent to JJ's cell. Penelope might be in danger. She needed their help and Derek would need her too.  
JJ sighed and looked at the watch. They were almost there, but she felt like the time was running faster today as ever.  
"JJ stay calm, if we have an accident, no one can help Penelope and Hank."  
JJ sighed again but nodded. Spencer was right, she needed to calm down. But when it came to her best friends, her family, JJ couldn't stop her emotions.  
"You're right Spence," she admitted, knowing her best friend needed an answer. "We're here anyway," she told him, mentioning to the house, where one of their cars was parked in front of.  
"She's still here."  
Both jumped out of the car when suddenly, they heard gunfire from the house they were about to enter. A sudden scream made both of them look at each other. That definitely had been Penelope.  
JJ and Spencer, both aimed their guns as well and entered the house silently from the front door, which was left open.  
Having each other's back, they checked each room before they headed upstairs, slowly and silently.

* * *

"Please don't hurt her!" Anne shouted at the two bodyguards who'd managed to rush into the house just in time to catch Anne giving Hank back to Penelope Garcia.  
The blonde woman was cradling the little boy to her chest. Hank was weeping and shivering in the arms of his mom. He covered his eyes with his arm and clung to his mother.  
"I told her where Hank is, you should hurt me!"  
"Oh no, Anne. Dr. Amnell has other plans with you. We're supposed to kill that fat geek and her lover anyway. So shut up stupid bitch!"  
"No, I won't shut up, idiot! Do you care one bit about that little boy? You're destroying his family!"  
"Why should I? He's a bastard, and as soon as Savannah is out of prison, I won't get to see that crybaby anymore!"  
Amnell's bodyguards both aimed their guns at Penelope's direction and were about to shoot when Anne decided to run into the gunfire. It wasn't logical to anyone, she was sure of that. But Anne had nothing to live for. Amnell hurt her almost every day, she was forced to help him kidnapping this young boy. It wasn't right. Nothing was right anymore. So, as soon as the bodyguard began to shoot at Penelope, Anne jumped in front of them, earning many bullets. But to the surprise of the bodyguards, Anne had aimed her own gun at them and fired two shots at the men. She'd been trained to shoot, to be able to help herself if necessary. And so she hit both men.  
When she fell down to the ground, all she could hear was Penelope's scream. "NO!"  
Anne was dead before she hit the floor, but she for the first time in a long while, felt useful for saving a woman and the child.

* * *

Hysterically, Penelope watched all three people in front of her falling to the ground. She hadn't seen that coming. So wide-eyed, she stared at the bodies in front of her. The woman was dead. One of the bodyguards also. But the other one began to move after a few moments of silence, and Penelope knew she had to leave now or never."  
Shhh, Hank, we're going to get out of here, but you have to be as silent as possible," she whispered to the weeping boy in her arms. Hank clung to her, he was afraid, and it was his right to be. He'd been kidnapped and had heard things he shouldn't have listened to in his age.  
"Mama's going to get you out of here, alright?"  
Hank slowly nodded and calmed down somewhat. Still cradling the boy to her chest, Penelope began to move slowly. Realizing her shoe's were too loud she toed off her shoes and started to walk again. Feeling warm blood on the floor, Penelope was walking through, she had to close her eyes for a moment, trying to calm herself. She had to stay tough for Hank, for Derek. Oh, Derek would be so mad at her if he knew what Penelope was doing right now. But she had to keep Hank safe at any cost.  
She tiptoed through the room and silently opened the door. It made a loud squeaking noise. Penelope closed her eyes again for a brief moment until she was brave enough to turn around and look at the man who was still alive.  
He was laying on his back, watching her.  
Gun aimed at her.  
Grinning.  
"You're so dead, bitch!" The guy choked and fired his gun.  
Penelope couldn't move.  
But she did.  
Someone pulled her and Hank out of the way, so the bullet only shot the wall behind her.  
"FBI, lower your gun!"  
JJ's screamed, banging the door open, her gun aimed at the injured guy in front on the ground. But the man didn't lower his weapon. Instead, he tried to reshoot Penelope. Spencer, who'd pulled her away only moments ago also aimed his gun at the man on the ground.  
"Stop this," he told the guy who only began to laugh. Blood was streaming out of the bodyguard's mouth. He wouldn't make it, it was apparent.  
"I promised Savannah to kill her, out of my way you two or I'll shoot you too!"  
"Don't even try!"  
He did.  
The man was dead within seconds. Spencer shot him between the eyes. Surprised by his own luck, Spencer stared at the man for a moment just like Penelope did.  
But JJ turned around to face her.  
"Are you hurt?" JJ asked her. Penelope shook her head. She must have lost her tongue somewhere between getting Hank back and now. Honestly, Penelope Garcia was in shock.  
"What the hell did you think you were doing Garcie?" JJ asked her as soon as she knew, Penelope wasn't hurt.  
"You could have died, my god, you can't do those things!"  
Staring at JJ, Penelope couldn't answer. She just cradled Hank to her chest, the only comfort she had right now, opened and closed her mouth several times in the afford to answer JJ. Eyes wide open, Penelope stared at her best friend in shock.  
"JJ this can wait, let's get her and Hank to the hospital. They need a checkup and Derek will also need them."  
That made Penelope snap back into presence.  
"Derek? What is it? Is he hurt? Where is he?" Panic fluted her body, and Hank felt it too. He looked up from his place at her chest, right at his godfather.  
"Daddy?" Hank asked, looking now at Penelope. "Where?"  
"Let's get you to him," Spencer answered. JJ wrapped an arm around Penelope's shoulder, and together they walked to the car, JJ silently filling Penelope in about how they'd found Derek.  
If it was possible to fall in shock, even more, Penelope managed it to be done. She sat in the car, holding Hank, staring at JJ. Penelope saw the mouth of her dearest friend moving, talking to her, saw JJ's face frowning, perhaps because Penelope didn't respond. But she just couldn't. Derek was hurt badly. Hank had been kidnapped. She'd almost lost the little boy. Had seen a woman dying for her. HER. Two men had been shot right in front of her. She'd had to walk through blood, could still feel the warm, thick liquid on her feet.  
"Garcie, talk to me," JJ begged her. Somehow she was able to hear her best friend for a moment, but all Penelope could do, was shake her head. She couldn't talk, felt like she was about to throw up any moment. Things like that shouldn't happen. Not to her, not to anyone. But especially not to that boy in her arms. Penelope looked at him, Hank had fallen asleep in her arms at some point, but his face was distressed, and he held on her for dear life. That wasn't something a little boy should do. At least, hopefully, he would forget about it at any point because of his youth. Penelope kissed the top of his curly head, and it was then, she felt tears streaming down her face. It was the second time for today she began to weep. But Penelope couldn't stop herself. Cradling Hank to her chest and feeling JJ's arm around her shoulder again, she leaned her head on her best friends shoulder and allowed her a moment to grieve.  
They arrived at the hospital, Derek had been brought to and were greeted by Tara who was waiting for them.  
"He's in surgery, one rib as hurt his lung. He has several injuries, but that was the worst. The doctor comes as soon as he knows more."  
Penelope, still unable to speak, only nodded and sat down, still holding Hank in her arms. The boy clung to her, and she needed his comforting weight to know she had the little boy back in her life.  
The rest of the team came to the hospital too, almost an hour later. Even Hotch arrived, together with his son, to be at his friend's side.  
"Amnell is arrested," Alvez filled them in as soon as everybody knew what had happened to Derek. "He'll never see the daylight again, just like Savannah Hayes. It was their plan, we found many documents telling us that. Amnell was too arrogant to delete them, he thought no one ever would find out the truth."  
Penelope only nodded, staring at the doors, hoping for a doctor to come out and tell her, Derek was alright and asking for her. Penelope needed her Noir hero more than anything right now.


	17. Chapter 16

JJ was so worried about her best friend who was sitting right beside her in the waiting area of the hospital. Penelope hadn't talked to anyone since JJ and Spence had rescued her and Hank. JJ looked at Penelope, who was staring at the doors which reached to the surgery, Derek was now in.  
Still, Penelope was carrying Hank in her arms, the poor little boy was holding on her for dear life, even in his sleep. Both of them had the most distressed expression on their faces.  
"Garcie, talk to me. Are you alright?"  
Nothing.  
No word.  
Maybe, Penelope had nodded? JJ couldn't really recognize it.  
"Please Garcie...I'm worried...," she said, putting a hand on Penelope's shoulder. Snapping back into presence, Penelope tilted her head to look at JJ.  
"Jayjie? Did you say something?" Her voice cracking, Penelope finally talked. JJ smiled gently at her best friend. She understood all too well how Penelope was feeling right now. If it had been Will...she didn't want to think about it.  
"I just wanted to know if you're alright Garcie. You make me worry," she answered.  
Penelope shrugged. She was so pale, JJ realized it now that she was able to observe her best friends face. Hopefully, it was just the shock she suffered right now.  
"I don't know JJ...what if Derek dies?" Penelope almost whispered, now that Hank was asleep, Penelope didn't want to wake that little boy.  
"What if he's hurt too bad? I mean, he went through so much already, how can he bear much more? How can he make it? One person can't take so many bad things, he'd already suffered too much, Jayjie." Tears began to stream down Penelope's face as she talked about all her fears. "What if I lose him even if he makes it? I don't know how I can help him this time...," Penelope whispered with the saddest voice, JJ had ever heard in her life.  
"He will make it Garcie. Just like all the times before," JJ answered, pulling her best friend into a calming embrace. "You know he's fighting in there for you and for Hank. Derek won't leave you on your own. Now that the two of you finally found together. He will make it, he will fight, and the three of you finally will live in peace like you deserve it."  
"Promise me Jayjie," Penelope whispered between two silent sobs as she leaned her head against JJ's shoulder.  
"I wish I could, Garcie, I wish I could."

* * *

Penelope was hoping, JJ's words would make her feel a little bit better, but they didn't. Still, she was anxious. Wanted to know how Derek was, needed to see him so badly. Lost in her thoughts, Penelope jumped at the voice of a doctor who was coming towards them.  
"Family of Derek Morgan?"  
She jumped out of JJ's arms, rose to her feet and almost ran towards the doc, cradling Hank protectively to her chest.  
"Yes, please, is he alright? Can I see him?" Penelope so badly wanted to see the handsome face of her Hot Stuff. Just then, she would be able to calm down, nothing else would make her relax.  
"You can see him as soon as he's brought into his room. He suffered internal bleeding. But we were just in time to stop it. He has a severe head injury. That's the worst thing because he has a cerebral swelling. We were able to alleviate the compression, but still, it's very critical. Also, his rip has hurt his right lung. We had to put him on a ventilator. His right arm is broken, and he has many bruises all over his body. We had to put him into an induced coma. At least we'll have him there for the next 24 to 48 hours, depends on how fast his major injuries are healing. We're going to check his vitals on a regular basis until tomorrow and then decide how to go on."  
Penelope stared at the doctor for a long while until she found her voice again. She was so scared to lose the man she loved.  
"Do...do you think he'll make it?" She asked in a hoarse voice.  
"The next 24 hours will tell us more. I'm sorry, I cannot tell you more right now."  
Penelope only nodded in response, feeling JJ and Spencer's hands at her back. She needed their strength now, for she assumed she was about to pass out at every second. Feeling dizzy and nauseous suddenly, Penelope was glad about her friends being with her.  
"The nurses will come and get you as soon as your fiancee is brought to his room. If you need anything just call for us," the doctor told her gently. Penelope forced herself to nod.  
"Thank you...," she whispered, and the doc made his way back to the surgery. Weakly, she sat back down on a chair, cradling Hank to her chest and kissing his forehead. "Your daddy's going to make it Hank the tank. Your daddy is tough, and he will pull through," she whispered into the curly hair of the little boy she loved so much. Penelope had to stay tough for Hank, he needed her so much right now.  
Half an hour later, Penelope was brought to the room, Derek was laying in. She had to leave Hank behind with JJ and Spencer. Penelope didn't want to, for she had just got the little boy back, but Hank wasn't allowed in the ICU. Walking into the room, Penelope realized how many monitors were all around Derek's bed. Looking at him, she realized how fragile he was. It remembered her at the time, he'd been in the hospital before he got married, before Hank was born. He'd almost died back then, and now there was a good chance he could die, too. Penelope knew that his injuries weren't minor. Derek was hurt too bad, he'd taken so much already, and Penelope could just hope, that if he made it, he would gain his strength back, mentally and physically.  
Not able to stop her tears, Penelope slowly sat down at the edge of Derek's bed and carefully kissed his cheek. Grabbing his hand, she whispered silently.  
"Hey Handsome, I'm here. Hank is safe. He's with Jayjie and our Boy wonder right now, he wasn't allowed to visit you until you're out of the ICU," slowly caressing his left hand, Penelope watched the man she loved so much. "Hank needs his daddy so much, so please stay with us. I need you too, Hot Stuff, you're not allowed to leave me, do you understand that?" Wiping away the tears, that were streaming down her face, Penelope talked for a while to Derek. She didn't want to leave his side, but she knew he would be angry at her if he knew she stayed with him all night.  
"Spencer will be with you for the night, I can't leave Hank alone, he went through so much, but I will be here again in the morning, and whenever you need me, Spencer calls me, alright? I love you so much, Handsome. Hang on."  
Tenderly, she placed another kiss on his cheek. She watched him for another while until Spencer came into the room, promising her, to call her as soon as something would change.  
"JJ's waiting for you, she gives you a drive home."  
Penelope nodded, not able to stop her tears. "Thank you Spencer...," she murmured silently, squeezing the hand of Derek for one last time before she walked out of the room. Penelope didn't make it to JJ. Suddenly she felt dizzy and nauseous again, and a sharp pain hit her lower belly. Penelope's view became blurry, and she couldn't focus on anything anymore. Penelope tried to move forward to get some help but passed out before she could even make one step.

* * *

JJ waited impatiently for Penelope to arrive but instead of her best friend, a doctor came.  
"Penelope Garcia?"  
Stunned, JJ rose to her feet, holding Hank in her arms. She walked over to the doctor. Curious, she looked at the medic, Penelope had been pale before she'd left to see Derek, yes. But still, she was surprised, seeing a doctor for Penelope.  
"Uhm, yes?"  
"Miss Garcia just passed out in front of her fiancee's room. We took some blood for she told us she felt dizzy and nauseous. She is dehydrated. Miss Garcia has to stay here for the night. Feeling pain in her state of pregnancy can be a sign of miscarriage. We will monitor her for the night, if she doesn't have pain until tomorrow, and doesn't start bleeding, we will release her, but she has to take it slow for her whole pregnancy."  
"Stop...she's pregnant?" JJ asked, with wide eyes. That she didn't know.  
"Yes, she's in the 10th week. She's asking for you. A nurse will bring you to her room as soon as possible."  
JJ, at a loss for words, only nodded in response. She didn't have to wait long for the nurse who brought her to the room, Penelope was laying at.  
JJ walked into the room, just to be greeted by her weeping best friend.  
"Jayjie!" JJ sat down on the edge of Penelope's bed and pulled her best friend into one-arm-embrace, Hank still holding in her other arm. The little boy stirred awake by the sound of Penelope's voice.  
"Momma?" He asked half-asleep.  
JJ gave Hank over to Penelope who kissed the little boy on the top of his curly head.  
"It's okay, Baby Boy, everything's alright." JJ watched Penelope whispering to Hank tenderly. "Momma has to stay here for the night, you're going with your auntie alright."  
"Wanna stay with you," Hank answered, snuggling to Penelope. He was about to cry, his face crumbled and tears began to shine in his eyes. JJ smiled sadly at the view. That little boy loved Penelope already so very much.  
"You know what? We're staying with you Garcie," JJ said after a moment. She knew Penelope needed someone at her side right now to talk to. It was too much for her bubbly friend.  
"You will?" Penelope looked up from Hank into JJ's eyes with the most grateful expression. JJ nodded in response, she wouldn't leave her best friend alone right now.  
"Will is with the kids, so don't worry about that," she answered, smiling at her grateful best friend.  
"Thank you Jayjie, thank you so much!"

* * *

Penelope was relieved to know, she wouldn't be alone for the night. She needed to talk to someone. Shaking her heard for the hundredth time in disbelieve she thought about her pregnancy. Penelope hadn't realized it. She hadn't been nauseous or anything. Honestly, she had felt too good these past weeks. Penelope had been happy with her life going on with Derek and Hank.  
"How are you now?" JJ asked her, causing Penelope to look at her best friend.  
"Honestly, I don't know. I mean, I never thought something like that would ever happen...," sighing, Penelope once again felt tears streaming down her face. Hank had fallen asleep once again in her arm, the poor boy must have been so exhausted. Penelope laid him down beside her and covered him with her blanket. Hank needed his rest.  
JJ sat down beside Penelope, pulling her into an embrace.  
"It's going to be okay, Garcie. I know I told you before, but listen to me. Derek will make it, that little baby will make it too, and the four of you will be fine."  
Penelope had no energy left to disagree. The day had been too long, so many things had happened to her little family. So, she just nodded, leaning her head against JJ's shoulder. Never, in her whole life, she'd thought she would be a mom, a real mom. Penelope had been happy to be the godmother of Henry and Hank. Now, things would be very different, and she had to cope with all these new things.  
"It's going to be fine, you're right. I have to stay positive, that's important," Penelope whispered, feeling now a little bit better thanks to JJ. "He's going to make it, we have a wedding to plan...we need a new place to live at...oh my God there are so many things to do!"  
Talking herself into another panic attack, Penelope shut her mouth. "Stop it, Penelope Grace Garcia," she murmured to herself, causing JJ to chuckle.  
"It's great that you recognized it on your own. We're all going to help you."  
"I know. It just has been so much the last two days, I'm totally overwhelmed with anything...," Penelope answered with a big sigh.  
"I understand. But you have to focus on your health now. When did you eat for the last time?"  
Penelope had to think about it for a long time until she realized she didn't know.  
"Yesterday...I think. This morning Hotch called me. Derek and I got ready and headed to the BAU right away. And you know what happened then."  
"Alright, I go and get you something to eat, and you stay in bed and rest." JJ let got of Penelope and rose to her feet.  
"Jayjie?"  
Grabbing her best friends hand, she looked at her. "Can you have a look at Derek before you come back? Ask Spencer how he is? Please?"  
JJ smiled at her gently and squeezed her hand.  
"Sure thing Garcie."  
Relieved, Penelope nodded and let go of JJ's hand. She laid down beside Hank where she would wait for JJ to come back.  
"Thank you, Jayjie," she whispered, watching Hank's sleeping form beside her until JJ came back almost half an hour later.  
"Derek is stable. His vitals are checked every hour and as far as Spence can say it's looking quite good."  
"Thank God," Penelope whispered, sitting up slowly. She exhaled a shuddering breath and grabbed the cup of tea, JJ had brought with the food. Taking a sip, Penelope closed her eyes for a moment.  
Derek would be alright, he had to. Penelope couldn't imagine a life without her Hot Stuff at her side anymore. And now with a baby on its way, she needed him even more. Placing a hand on her lower belly, Penelope opened her eyes again to look at the food, JJ brought with her.  
She had to focus on her health now, that was important, so Penelope grabbed a sandwich and took a bite. Knowing that Derek was stable so far made things better for her. Still, Penelope wouldn't be able to relax until Derek was awake until she knew, he would be fine. But for now, that had to be enough.


	18. Chapter 17

Two days after Derek's surgery the medics had stopped the medication which had put him into the induced coma. The cerebral swelling was gone entirely, and as far as the docs could say, there was no damage left. Derek had been brought fast enough in the hospital, thanks to JJ and Spencer, who had found him. They had to wait until he was awake to examine him, though, but everything looked quite good. Still, he was put to the ventilator as long as he was in the induced coma. Three days had passed since the medication had been stopped, and yet, Derek still wasn't awake.  
Penelope had been released from the hospital two days ago, but spent most of the time at Derek's bedside, waiting for him to wake up, when she wasn't with Hank, who also needed her a lot since his kidnapping. Hank clung to her and didn't want her to leave him. It broke her heart to see the little guy so afraid of other people besides her, but he needed to learn to trust again, it was entirely necessary. So she'd started to leave him with JJ or Reid for an hour or two a day. And it worked, Hank wasn't that afraid anymore, as he began to trust in Penelope's friends and family again. JJ and Reid helped her a lot, and she couldn't be more grateful for having the best friends in the world. Fran hadn't been able to come over yet, but Penelope called her every morning and evening until her future mother-in-law would be able to visit them in a few days too. Derek's mom felt bad for not being able to be around her son while he was injured and Penelope did understand it. To be honest, she was fortunate when Fran had called her yesterday to tell her, she would be there at the weekend. Penelope hadn't told Fran that she was going to be a grandma in a few months. Penelope wanted to wait until Derek knew, for she was sure he wanted to tell his momma on his own.  
Penelope, indeed, felt a lot better, since her collapse.  
She tried to rest as often as possible, the risk to miscarry her unborn child wasn't from the tables yet. But she was allowed to walk around if she would rest as often as possible. And Penelope did just that. She wasn't young anymore, not too old, sure, but if she had the chance to have a baby on her own, Penelope would do anything to protect it. Never, she'd thought she would be able to become a mother, above all a mother of Derek Hot Stuff Morgan's child. That never had been more than wishful thinking, or a dream of hers. Never in her life, Penelope Garcia had imagined that Derek, despite their playful-flirting-friendship, was actually able to love her. To make her feel things she hadn't felt with any other man before. Never, in all these years, Penelope had felt that loved by a human. But honestly, if someone would have told her, that Derek someday would propose to her, would REALLY want to marry her, Penelope would have laughed at that joke. And yet, all her dreams had become true. They had a marriage to plan, and soon, Hank would be their child by adoption, and to make their luck perfect, Derek and Penelope could have a child on their own. She should be so happy, but right now, all Penelope did was worrying about Derek, hoping he would wake up soon.  
Slightly rubbing her belly, sitting on a comfortable chair at Derek's bedside, Penelope held his limp hand in hers. He could wake up every minute, and she wanted to be the first one, he would get to see. Hank was with JJ and Spencer today, so Penelope was able to spend the whole day with her Hot Stuff.  
Penelope kept talking to Derek all the time, just pausing, when she ate and drank or used the loo. She took her breaks, though, Derek wouldn't like to hear that she forgot herself above him. And he would be right. Not that it was easy to not forget her, but now, with a baby growing in her belly, Penelope had a reason to think about herself.  
Time flew by very fast, it was getting dark outside, Penelope was about to leave any minute when she thought, she felt his hand moving a little.  
"Baby Boy?" She whispered, slowly and yet carefully sitting up more, afraid to see that it wasn't true. That his eyes were still closed. And all so slowly, Penelope looked at his handsome face.  
He stared back at her, his eyes full of panic. Apparently, Derek didn't understand what was going on with him. Beginning to struggle, Derek tried to move his broken arm, to remove the tube, that belonged to the ventilator. Groaning in pain, he realized, he just couldn't move his arm. Squeezing her hand in a helpless motion, Penelope stopped staring at him and tried to calm him down.  
"Hey, oh my God, you're awake! I'm sorry! It's alright, everything's okay! Just...just lay. Still, I'm calling for a doctor to help you. It's going to be fine, Derek, just calm down." Pressing the button right beside Derek's bed, Penelope rose to her feet to carefully sit down on Derek's bedside. She still was holding his hand in hers, which she began to caress tenderly. Still, his eyes were full of pain and panic, but Derek followed her instructions and laid still, staring at her wide-eyed. It must be hard, and very confusing for him, Penelope realized, so she tried to talk to him, make him think about other things until the doc would come.  
"You're doing great, Hot Suff," Penelope in the most calming voice she could muster said, despite the need to cry in happiness. "You're in the hospital, they put you on a ventilator for you lung was hurt, by one of your ribs. But they'll remove it now that you're awake Handsome. Your head was hurt badly, but it's alright now, you're going to be fine, now that you woke up," Penelope whispered, inhaling a shuddering breath after talking. Derek listened to every word she said, squeezing her hand firmly with his. He raised one eyebrow, apparently in effect to ask her something. Not that Derek hadn't tried to talk, but it hadn't worked. But Penelope understood what he wanted to know, and she told him everything, that was for sure.  
"Hank's good, he wasn't hurt. The woman, who took care of him, while he was kidnapped, she was very good to him. Still, our precious boy is afraid, but he's doing better every day, he's with Jayjie and Spencer right now," Penelope told him, not able to hold her tears back anymore. "He misses his daddy so much," she added, wiping away her tears. "And I missed you too, I was so afraid to lose you," tenderly squeezing his hand, Penelope saw tears shining in Derek's eyes, too. So she carefully leaned in and planted a tender kiss on his forehead. "I'm so glad, you're awake, you can't imagine, Handsome," she whispered, putting her forehead against his for a moment, inhaling his scent, enjoying the closeness to the most important man in her life.  
Penelope heard the door open after a moment. She sat up again and turned around a bit to see two nurses and the medic who'd filled her into Derek's condition three days ago.  
"He's awake!" Was all Penelope could say, with the most tearful, yet excited voice, earning a smile from the doctor.  
"That's great news, Mrs. Garcia. Would you mind and wait outside for a moment? We'll examine him then you can come back."  
"No, I don't mind," Penelope answered. She turned back around to Derek and smiled tearfully at him. "I'll be back in a few minutes, don't try to run away," she said jokingly, so relieved to see him awake. Derek nodded, weakly trying on a half-smile and let go of her hand.  
Penelope planted another sweet kiss on Derek's forehead before she rose back to her feet and left Derek's hospital room, already dialing JJ's number to spread the good news.

* * *

Derek was beyond relief when the ventilator finally was removed from his body. It had hurt like a bitch but being able to breathe on his own was more important to him. And being able to speak. He had to talk to Penelope, had to apologize for being a jackass and running right into Amnell's arms. He was the profiler and should've known better.  
"Don't try to speak until tomorrow morning. You'll be sore, and it will hurt. Give your body the time to heal."  
Derek listened to the doc and nodded in agreement, the doc didn't know him. Hopefully, he would accept it. Derek would try and talk to Penelope, it was necessary to him since he had woken up earlier. He really wanted and needed was his Baby Girl at his side, that was all that mattered to him.  
"We come and check your vitals every few hours, and a nurse gives you some pain medication. If you need something, don't hesitate to call us." Derek again nodded, he couldn't do much more, wasn't allowed. The nurse just did, what the doc was telling and put something into the IV. Soon, Derek felt the pain in his body becoming less intense.  
"See you in a while, Derek," the doc said and left the room together with the nurses. Only seconds later, his God-Given-Solace rushed back into the room and, in a bee-line to his side. Derek smiled at her beautiful, tearful expression, now realizing how glad he was to be alive. To get a second chance, to make things better. And he would, he would make things better for him, for Penelope and for Hank. Derek would do anything to give them the life they deserved.  
"How are you?" Penelope asked him after a moment. Derek lifted his left arm to make a thumbs up, earning a snort in response. "Yes, sure you're totally fine" Penelope answered with an amused smile on her face. Her eyes were full of unshed tears, fighting their way to come out. Derek couldn't stop himself.  
"Come here...," he whispered. hoarsely Indeed it hurt to speak, but he wanted his woman in his arm right here right now, and for that, he had to tell her what he wanted.  
Penelope hesitated, looking at him. "I don't want to hurt you Hot Stuff, as much as I would love to be back in your strong arms."  
"Come...," was all he, hoarsely, answered, slowly opening his left arm to invite her once again. This time, she didn't pause, toed her shoes off and carefully snuggled to his side. Penelope covered both of them with her blanket then. Gingerly wrapping one arm around his waist and placing her head on his chest, Derek heard her relieved sigh and smiled a little. Inhaling her beloved scent and feeling her honey blonde hair tickling his cheek, Derek felt so much better. Closing his eyes for a brief moment, he profoundly enjoyed having his Baby Girl in his arms again.  
"I cannot tell you how glad I am that you're awake," she whispered after a moment. Derek again smiled, but he really needed to apologize. It couldn't wait until tomorrow, Penelope should know he was sorry for his behavior. "I was so afraid to lose you."  
"I'm so sorry Baby Girl...," he whispered hoarsely, trying to say more, but Penelope interrupted him before he could even start.  
"Stop it, Derek. There's nothing to apologize for. I'm just so glad that you're alive. I couldn't do all this without you."  
"You could...," he whispered, trying not to say too many words at once. Derek tried to hold his arm in place, to squeeze her but found himself too weak to do so. So, he just remained still and looked at her.  
"No, Derek not anymore." Derek was slightly confused, at as Penelope sat up a bit, to look into his eyes. "We're not alone. It's not just you and me. But even if it were just you and me, I wouldn't want to do anything on my own anymore! Also, there's Hank, who needs us and...," she looked at him, he could see she tried to be brave but was utterly afraid of what to say next. Derek raised an eyebrow questioningly at her expression. What could be so bad that she was scared of telling him?  
"Spill it," he whispered silently, looking at Penelope as she inhaled and exhaled a deep shuddering breath to calm herself down. Derek would be amused about that if he didn't want to know what she wanted to tell him.  
"I'm pregnant Derek, I'm so so sorry, I just...it...," she eventually said, but stopped talking to again take a deep breath. Derek stared at her in disbelieve. Did she really just say that she was pregnant? With his child? "I honestly didn't know it. It's just, I passed out all these days ago when you were brought to the hospital, with all the things that had happened that day. But when I woke up again, I was met by a medic who told me I was pregnant in the tenth week and I...I...I don't know, I want that child and I can understand if you're shocked or want to overthink a few things..but..."  
Derek had squeezed her hand to stop her from talking. He finally was able to react, had needed a moment to realize what Penelope was telling him.  
"We're having a baby?" He whispered, his voice full of emotions, he felt his eyes tearing up, happy tears indeed. Penelope nodded slowly, staring at him wide-eyed in wait for more reaction. A lone tear streamed down her face, it was clear, that she was afraid, he would be angry, or disappointed. But hell no, never would he be disappointed at her. Not, when she gave him so special news!  
Derek pulled her towards him or tried to, but Penelope got the hint and snuggled back to his side. Derek felt a few tears of his own streaming down his face. He'd never thought he ever would get a second chance in marriage or having a child. But Penelope had made it possible.  
"I'm glad," he whispered hoarsely, his voice full of emotion. Derek couldn't say much more, it hurt to speak, but Penelope understood because as soon as he told her he was glad, all of her dams were broken down and she began to relax entirely. Weep in his arms, Derek cradled her to his chest as best as he could and bent his head to plant a kiss on the top of her head.  
"I'm glad too," he eventually heard her saying as she finally had calmed down a little. "I was so afraid, no, I am so afraid, but with you, it's not that bad." Slightly chuckling, Derek weakly squeezed her. He knew she would make a great job being a mom, she showed it every day with Hank. She just couldn't see it with his own eyes.  
"I love you Baby Girl, so much," hoarsely, he spoke these words, feeling himself getting more and more tired.  
"I love you too, Hot Stuff, more than anything!"  
With a soft smile, Derek closed his tired eyes. Feeling Penelope's warmth at his side, Derek fell into a comfortable sleep.


	19. Chapter 18

One and a half week later, Derek finally was released from the hospital. With his broken arm and rib, he had to take it slow for some more weeks but yet, he was glad to finally come home today. Penelope and Hank needed him more than ever and honestly, he craved to have them around him too. His momma had come to a visit last weekend and was still around to spoil him rotten for another week before she would fly home to Chicago again. Derek genuinely had never felt at ease like that before. Having all his essential people around, being part of his old team like he'd remembered, was all he wanted. He enjoyed it thoroughly. Being able to get a second chance at marriage was magnificent as well. But Penelope having a baby on her way was the topping of anything good that had happened to him so far. The sole owner of his heart carrying his child under her heart filled him with more happiness he could ever imagine. Sure, he'd been beyond happy when Savannah had told him she was pregnant with Hank, but this one was different.  
Derek would do anything to make it up to the people he loved so much. Penelope deserved him at his best, and since they'd decided to share their lives, Derek hadn't been himself. Now, with everything going to be back to normal, Derek would spoil Penelope and Hank as much as possible. He had some plans on his mind, as soon as his broken bones would be healed, Derek wanted to buy and renovate a house for his little family. It was the last thing he could do. Living in Penelope's small apartment would become more complicated if the baby would be here in only a few months.  
Yesterday, Hotch had brought him the official documents to confirm that Penelope and Derek now were the formal and legal guardian of Hank Spencer Morgan. Penelope, emotional almost every time with everything that had happened to them, hadn't been able to stop weeping fortunately for a long while even if Derek had held her in his arms the whole time. He'd been providential too. Finally, Hank officially was his and Penelope's child. Honestly, life was way too good for him right now. Derek wanted to trust in this luck completely, and he would be able to with some time. He would do anything to fight for his life, for his family and beloved people. Never would he let anyone of them down again.  
The door to his room suddenly opened, bringing his thoughts back to the present. His beautiful fiancee, with the brightest of smiles on her gorgeous lips, came to him, kissing him tenderly.  
"Hiya Hot Stoff, ready to come home to us?"  
"More than ready, Baby Girl! How are my favorites doing today?" Derek asked, already sitting on his bed with his bag packed.  
"We're doing just fine. Everything's considerably good. Hank is with Fran, they're preparing everything for your homecoming, so it was up to me and our little bean here to pick you up!" Lovingly caressing her lower belly, Penelope appeared radiant with happiness. It was infectious, Derek could feel himself beaming up too.  
"Great my love, I can't wait one more minute! I already signed my discharge papers so let's go, Princess!"  
Penelope beamed at him and nodded as she grabbed his bag for him. Derek wasn't allowed to carry anything right now. He wasn't thrilled that Penelope, pregnant in the twelfth week now, had to transport the bag for him. Thankfully, it wasn't all too heavy for her.  
They said goodbye to the nurses and headed to Penelope's car, Ester, who was placed right in front of the hospital. They took their seats and as soon as their seatbelts were buckled Penelope drove them homeward. Derek beatifically smiled all the way, relishing the fresh air and sun on his skin.  
He'd missed that.  
Being able to see all these beautiful things surrounding him. Penelope could do that, and with her magic working on him, he was able to recognize that too.  
Derek should've admitted into his feelings earlier, but he wouldn't think about it now or never. Importantly was, they were together now. Only four more weeks to go until he would be able to call her Mrs. Morgan, six more months until their little kid would accompany them. Derek honestly couldn't wait for all these things to happen.  
"Hey Hotstuff, are you good?" Penelope suddenly asked him. It was then that he recognized, they just parked in front of Penelope's apartment complex. Derek bent his head to look at the love of his life and smiled at her.  
"Sure, I was just thinking, that's all, Baby Girl. Let's go, I can't wait to see our rugrat and my momma," he answered genuinely. Penelope responded with a sympathetic grin and helped Derek getting out of her vehicle.  
Gradually, they strolled to her flat. Derek had to take it slow, just like Penelope.  
"We're quite a pair, aren't we?" He asked, chuckling in amusement. Penelope laughed at his words but acknowledged immediately, while she stroked her honey-blonde hair behind her ear.  
"We are, Handsome. But I don't care," Penelope answered in a sing-song voice. Apparently, she was the most fortunate human on earth. Derek grinned and wrapped his healthful arm around her waist, cradling her to him before Penelope could unlock her entrance.  
"Did I told you today, how much I love you, Baby Girl?" He asked her, carrying all his adoration for Penelope in these words. Penelope leaned her body against him, giggling in happiness.  
"Not today, Handsome, but you already mentioned it one or two times lately," she answered, tilting her head to plant a tender kiss on his lips. Derek responded immediately. They shared a few passionate kisses before Penelope and Derek finally made it into the apartment. They'd missed each other profoundly in these last two weeks, so it was just average they wanted to spend as much time together as possible.  
"Pops!" The door to Penelope's apartment wasn't entirely opened yet when Hank came running towards his dad.  
"Hey, Hank!" Derek, slowly kneeled down to his son to drag him into a tight embrace. He'd missed this little boy thoroughly. Even if he wasn't his son by blood, Derek loved him profoundly and never wanted to miss out a particular moment of the little boy's life again.  
"Missed ya pops!" Hank assured him all smiles the moment they pulled apart.  
"And I missed you too Hank the tank. I missed you very much!" Hank, giggling waited until Derek rose to his feet again, then took his hand to accompany his dad on the way to the couch. Penelope followed them, right after she'd brought Derek's bag to the sleeping area of her apartment.  
Derek hugged his mom lovingly, grateful that she was still around. He would never admit it, but Derek relished being spoiled by his momma. Penelope sat down beside him and all together they enjoyed hanging around, talking. There were many things to organize for the wedding though, but his momma and Penelope had mastered most elements out. Derek would just have to buy his tuxedo, that was all he had to worry about. He decided to call Spencer tomorrow to ask him for being his best man, also. Penelope already had found her wedding dress but refused to show him.  
"You'll get to see me on our wedding day, it causes bad luck if you see me before," she told him seriously when he asked her if he could see the dress. Derek accepted that but found himself wondering about the dress. He sincerely couldn't wait to see Penelope in her wedding gown.

* * *

The following four weeks passed by very fast with making all those preparations for the wedding, Derek and Penelope hadn't had any time for themselves. But Derek had a surprise for his Baby Girl. After the ceremony, he would kidnap her for a week. His mother, knowing about his plans had helped him to organize everything. She'd secretly had packed some clothes for her future daughter-in-law and prepared the wooden hut, Derek had rented with everything, Derek and Penelope would need.  
But first, they would have to get married.  
Derek found himself pacing through the room, already dressed in a tuxedo which fitted perfectly. The cast on his arm had been removed two days ago, so he was able to wear everything like it used to be. Nervously rubbing his neck as he paced through the room, Derek didn't hear Spencer appearing to accompany him.  
"Hey Morgan, you're ready?"  
Derek practically jumped at the voice and spun around, just to look at the best friend he would ever have besides his Baby Girl.  
"What's wrong, Pretty Boy?"  
"Nothing, I wanted to pick you up, it's time...," Spencer answered, smirking sheepishly at Derek.  
"Oh...," Derek answered, relieved somewhat. Still, Derek was silently expecting for Penelope to break up with him. He didn't deserve her after all the trouble he'd caused her. But nevertheless, she was there, carrying his child, telling him how much she loved him every single day.  
"Let's go then," he said after he checked his look in the mirror once again. Derek wanted to look as perfect as possible for his Baby Girl.  
Spencer accompanied Derek on his way to the place Derek and Penelope would get married in a few minutes. A cleric was standing there, welcoming Derek and Spencer with a firm handshake.  
"Welcome, Mr. Morgan. Are you ready for this?"  
"I was born ready," Derek answered with the most nervous smile. Everything would be okay as soon as Penelope would be here. He couldn't wait to see her in her wedding gown, to hold her beautiful and sexy body against his.  
The cleric smiled knowingly and nodded in understanding. That was when the music began to start.  
Derek's heart startled when he turned around.  
At first, there was Emily, followed by JJ. They were Penelope's bridesmaids, both dressed in a beautiful petticoat-style red dress which fitted them perfectly.  
And then, his Goddess arrived, accompanied by her oldest step-brother Eddie Garcia. She was dressed in a beautiful lace-trimmed wedding gown. It almost screamed Penelope and hugged every curve of her perfect body extremely good. Even if her dress had a pure eggshell color, it was for the beautiful colored accessories which made her appear more beautiful as Derek ever was able to imagine. He couldn't stop staring at her as she came closer to him, walking slowly in the rhythm of the music. Penelope beamed at him, unshed tears shimmering in her beautiful brown eyes.  
Derek took his soon-to-be-wife from Eddie, shaking hands with him. He then led her to the altar. Derek didn't let go of Penelope's hand. He honestly needed the contact with her, just like she did. Keeping Derek's hand in a firm grip, she smiled at him with the loveliest of smiles.  
"You're so beautiful Baby Girl," Derek whispered, causing Penelope to smile even brighter than before.  
They listened to every word, the cleric said until it came to the point, where they had to answer the most significant question.  
"Penelope Grace Garcia, will you have this man, Derek Morgan, to be your wedded husband, to live together in marriage, will you love him, comfort him, honor him and keep him, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"  
"That's a sure thing!" Penelope squeaked out, causing everyone present to chuckle in amusement. Derek smirked as he saw her blushing a little and grinning sheepishly. "I mean, I do, sir!" She said then, tilting her head to look at Derek. The cleric nodded, then brought his attention to Derek.  
"Derek Morgan, will you have this woman, Penelope Grace Garcia, to be your wedded wife, to live together in marriage, will you love her, comfort her, honor her and keep her, in sickness and in health, in sorrow and in joy, so long as you both shall live?"  
"I do!" Derek answered seriously. He'd been waiting for this question all ceremony long.  
"Great! You told me you wanted to say your own wedding vows. It's your turn now."  
Derek cleared his throat and took both of Penelope's hand's in his big palms. He gently smiled at the sole owner of his heart and began.  
"Baby Girl, I'm so grateful to have you in my life for so many years now. Having the honor to marry my best friend, sharing my life with you is more than I could ever hope for. I promise here, and now that I will never let you down again, I will do anything that makes you and our family happy. You're the sole owner of my heart, and I will cherish you like you deserve it. You're my God-Given-Solace, I love you more than words can say, and I will show it to you for the rest of our life."  
Penelope's eyes teared up as she listened to him. She delicately smiled at him with the most affectionate expression Derek had ever noticed on her face.  
"My turn now, Hot Stuff?" She asked quietly, and Derek nodded. Penelope smiled a little bit more and wiped away some tears which were streaming down her face.  
"I loved you for a long time but wasn't confident enough to tell you, when I should have done it. Now, the both of us will become a second chance, and I can't wait to share my life with you, our precious boy and our little bean. We will create wonderful new memories unitedly as a family, and that makes me more felicitous than even I can say. I love you, so so much Derek Morgan!"  
Derek smiled at her, just like Penelope looking forward to all these new memories they would have together.  
"You may now share your rings!"  
They did just, what the cleric was asking them for, both with from excitement quivering hands. Honestly, Derek couldn't wait to kiss the woman in front of him.  
"I proudly announce to all of you, Mr. and Mrs. Morgan! Congratulations! Mr. Morgan, you may now kiss your bride!" The cleric said, causing all the present people to cheer up and clap their hands.  
"That's what I was waiting for," Derek jokingly answered, finally relaxed. Penelope finally was his wife, he couldn't believe how lucky he was. Bending his head, he tenderly kissed Penelope. She, all so lovingly wrapped her arms around his neck and very quickly, the kiss became more passionate. They only pulled apart in need of air, adoringly smiling at each other.  
"Hello Mrs. Morgan," Derek murmured with a full-watt smile before the happily married couple turned around arm in arm to receive congratulations from their family and friends.


	20. Epilogue

Thank you to everyone who took some time to leave a review on my story, I really appreciate it. Here's the last chapter, which I decided to post a little earlier for I finished it faster than I thought :) Enjoy, and I hope you have a great week lying ahead.

* * *

 **Epilogue**

One year later  
Penelope Grace Morgan, née Garcia rested on a garden swing at the backyard of their house. With closed eyes, she bent her head in the direction of the sun, who was shining brightly this afternoon. Softly swinging Penelope relished her moment of peace, as she considered about how fortunate she was.  
Six month's ago, Penelope had given birth to her and Derek's beautiful daughter Holly Morgan after a very exhausting pregnancy. The doctor's had told them, Penelope shouldn't pull her body through another pregnancy, but to her and Derek, it wasn't needed. Holly was such a beautiful little girl, with creamy skin and dark, curled hair and so much cheerfulness as a little girl could ever have. Holl hardly cried and was satisfied with the most straightforward actions her parents did for her. Penelope couldn't stop watching her daughter, whenever she had time to. She admired Holly so very much. Since a few weeks, Holly had decided to sleep through the nighttime. Emily and Hotch had become her godparents, both, Derek and Penelope couldn't think of better godparents beside Spencer and JJ who'd jumped in alternately of Penelope as Hank's godmother.  
Hank was doing extremely good, additionally. He thoroughly trusted people again and two month's after his kidnapping, Penelope, and Derek had brought him to a new kindergarten without further problems. Hank enjoyed the time, playing with other kids in his age around him, Penelope had stayed put for the first time, just in case, but soon had found that Hank hadn't needed her. It was almost as if he had forgotten his kidnapping and if it was so, Penelope was relieved. Hank never again had asked for Savannah, but Penelope couldn't care less about it. That woman had caused so much trouble, Penelope never wanted to hear the name of that woman again ever.  
Her husband, which she loved to call him so as often as possible, had as soon as the doctors had given him their okay, purchased them the magnificent house, Penelope was sitting in the backyard of. He'd renovated it so fast, that they were able to move in before Holly was even born. Derek also was fully back at work. Being back at the BAU filled him with so much enthusiasm again. Penelope was fortunate to see her husband felicitous once more. He was working very hard, and she appreciated every single bit he did. Derek did everything Penelope asked and didn't ask for.  
Honestly? Derek Morgan was the most perfect husband in the whole wide world, and she loved this man so much it caught her breath sometimes.  
Taken all together, Penelope couldn't be happier. Having so much luck was more, she could ever ask for!  
Sighing and smiling, Penelope opened her eyes as she heard the sound of Derek's SUV, and moments later the killing of an engine in the parking lot right beside their backyard.  
Rising to her feet, Penelope beamed with happiness as she saw her most beloved people getting out of the automobile: Derek, Hank, Holly, and Fran, who'd decided to come to a vacation for the weekend. Derek and the kids had picked Fran up from the airport while Penelope had stayed to set the table for all of them.  
"Mommy, mommy!" Hank saw her first, waving at her as he came running towards her.  
"Hiya, Hank the Tank," Penelope chirped delighted as she lifted the little guy up into her arms to plant several kisses all over his face.  
"How's my favorite boy doing?" She asked as Hank began to giggle happily.  
"Good, momma!" Hank answered, wrapping his little arms around her neck to give her a Hank-like big-bear hug. "Missed ya!"  
"Oh I missed you too, so very much" Penelope answered all smiles as she caught up to Derek and Fran, who was carrying her youngest grandchild.  
"And I thought, I was your favorite boy," Derek joked as he kissed the top of her nose.  
"I'm afraid you'll have to share Hot Stuff. I'm sure you don't mind," Penelope answered grinning, giving him a tender kiss on his lips.  
"Not one bit, Baby Girl," Derek answered, smiling and chuckling himself as he wrapped one arm around her shoulder, to squeeze her delicately against his chest. Smiling, Penelope leaned her head against Derek's shoulder for a second before he let go of her again, so Penelope was able to greet her mother-in-law.  
"Hey, Fran!" Penelope said all smiles, delighted that Fran had made it and would stay with them for a few days. "It's so good to see you again!"  
"Oh honey, it's good to see you sweet-pies too, I've missed each and every one of you!"  
Giving Fran an embrace, with both Holly and Hank snuggled up to their chest's Penelope smiled happily.  
"We've missed you too. Come on in. Hank and I have baked an awesome cake this morning, you'll love it!"  
Together, the five of them strolled into the home of the Morgan family. Penelope admired this house so much. Derek had made the perfect home for their little family. It carried so much of both of them, was colorful and unique like Penelope, yet modern like Derek loved it. Somehow these things fitted together flawlessly, just like Penelope and Derek.  
"Have a seat my lovebirds," Penelope told them in a sing-song voice, giving Hank over to Derek so she could serve the cake. Penelope didn't think, she'd ever seen a cake more colorful anywhere else. She'd let Hank pick the colors for the dough and the topping, also the decorations on it. In Penelope's eyes, it was the most beautiful cake ever. She brought it to the table, even coffee for the grown-ups and juice for Hank.  
"Help yourself!" She said as she sat down beside Derek after she'd taken her beautiful daughter from Fran. Penelope was still breastfeeding, and her daughter used to be very hungry all the time. Having a bite from the cake here and there too, while holding her daughter at the right place, she listened to her family talking with each other.  
"My God, Hank, you've created such a beautiful cake. I don't think I've ever viewed a cake more impressive. I just don't want to eat it," Fran told her grandchild with a proud smile, which caused Hank to beam at Fran in delight. "It's so tasty also. Wow, you should help your momma more often!" Hank, grinning from ear to ear nodded in excitement, looking at Penelope who smiled and replied with a not herself.  
"Sure Baby Boy," she said as Hank giggled happily.  
They had such a great afternoon together, talking and laughing together. Penelope appreciated every second of it so much, she was about to weep any second just because she knew she was the most fortunate woman on earth.  
The next morning, after breakfast, Fran went out to the nearby park with Hank and Holly. Derek and Penelope had decided to pay a visit to their favorite place to have some private time. It was a short ride in their car, and soon, Derek was spreading a blanket in their favorite spot near a lake they'd found by coincidence.  
They sat down together, Penelope immediately leaned herself against her Chocolat Adonis, who eventually wrapped his muscular arm around her to pull her even closer. Penelope sighed in happiness and closed her eyes for a moment.  
"Happy?" Derek asked her silently before he planted a tender kiss on the top of her head.  
"I can't even describe how happy, my beloved husband," Penelope replied, relishing every moment she was able to share with Derek. She'd never thought, she'd become that lucky to be married to Derek Morgan, but now that it actually had happened, Penelope knew there couldn't be a person happier than her.  
"Same here, princess," Derek whispered gingerly, causing Penelope to shiver. She opened her eyes again, tilted her head to look at his handsome and oh so beautiful face.  
"How often do I tell you I love you, Derek Morgan?" Penelope asked him, tearfully, lifting her hand to tenderly caress his cheek.  
"Everyday, it's implied," he answered with the sweetest smile, Penelope had ever seen on his face.  
She chuckled amusedly as he leaned in and kissed her. Tenderly at first, but with each kiss growing more and more passionately. Only the need for air pulled them apart from doing more. Derek Morgan was the best kisser, and lover she'd ever had.  
"I never thought I could be that happy again Baby Girl," Derek whispered as he leaned his forehead against hers, holding her firmly in his strong, muscular arms. "But you led me back to the right path, showed me how to fight for my happiness. Honestly, Penelope, I'll be forever grateful for you turning my whole world upside down. You make me feel safe again. I love you Baby Girl, I love you so much."  
Tears were already streaming down Penelope's cheeks before Derek was even finished with his words. He was so honest with her, Penelope could recognize the truth in his dark eyes. Derek trusted her with all his being. He'd made it so far, and Penelope couldn't be prouder of her handsome hubby. She would show him every single day that he was worth every positiveness he had received so far.  
"Same here, Handsome," she whispered tearfully but with so much delight. "With you at my side, everything's possible and I too, love you so very much." They gazed at each other lovingly and enjoyed their private time so much before they would have to go back to their enchanting children and Derek's mom. Outstanding days were laying ahead, and they would enjoy each and every one of them.  
Looking forward to a future full of love and joy, Penelope and Derek couldn't wait to spend every single day together as a family surrounded by people who loved them and who they enjoyed having around them too. Knowing, that the best was yet to come, Penelope sighed once more, admiring the beautiful view in front of her and the strong arms of her Chocolat Adonis around her.

 **THE END**


End file.
